THE  LAND  OF 
ENCHANTMENT 


IN 

LOVING  MEMORY 
OF 

ANN  M.  GRIFFIN 
1932-1980 


m 


Q(h 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016  with  funding  from 
Boston  Library  Consortium  Member  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/landofenchantmenOOwhit_0 


THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


PICTURESQUE  BRIGHT  ANGEL  TRAIL,  GRAND  CANON,  ARIZONA 


THE  LAND  OF 

ENCHANTMENT 

From  Pike’s  Peak  to  the  Pacific 


By  LILIAN  AVHITING 

Author  of  “ The  World  Beautiful,”  “ The  Florence  of 
Landor,”  “ Boston  Days,”  etc. 


“ The  Fairest  enchants  me ; 
The  Mighty  commands  me!'"' 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 


BOSTON 

LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 

1909 


70^ 

' Vv  1 


Copyright^  1906^ 

By  Little,  Brown,  and  Company. 
All  rights  reserved. 


'Hf  1^.  l 


Pr(nt«0 

S.  J.  Parkhill  Sl  Co.,  Boston,  U.  8.  A. 


boston  college  l^Rary 

CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS. 


TO 


The  Unfading  Memory 

OF 

MAJOR  JOHN  WESLEY  POWELL 

THE  GREAT  EXPLORER 

Whose  name  is  inseparably  linked  for  all  time  with  the  “Titan  of  Chasms,” 
the  entire  length  of  which  he  penetrated,  revealing  its  weird  and  mysterious 
grandeur ; whose  fidelity  to  scientific  survey  has  signally  advanced  the  progress 
of  our  country;  whose  wise  foresight  in  advocating  water  supplies  for  arid 
lands,  whose  heroism  amid  hardships  and  whose  persistence  of  energy  and 
noble  purpose  forever  endear  his  name  to  every  American  and  to  all  who  revere 
the  loftiest  achievements  of  science, 

These  pages  are  inscribed  by 

LILIAN  WHITING. 


**  The  sun  set,  hut  not  his  hope  ; 

Stars  rose;  his  faith  was  earlier  up^ 


“ What 's  life  to  me  ? 

Where'er  I look  is  fire^  where'er  I listen 
Music ; and  where  I tend  bliss  evermore." 


Browning. 


AUTHOR’S  NOTE 


It  is  a special  pleasure  to  the  author  to  gratefully  pre- 
sent her  acknowledgments  to  Mr.  W.  H.  Simpson,  of  the 
Santa  Fe;  Mr.  S.  K.  Hooper,  of  the  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande ; Mr.  David  Cameron  Mac  Watters,  of  the  Short 
Line,  and  Mr.  Croycroft,  the  artist  of  Santa  New 
Mexico,  for  their  kind  courtesies  in  facilitating  the  choice 
of  subjects  for  illustration  and  for  their  sympathetic  en- 
couragement in  the  effort  to  interpret  something  of  the 
sublimity  and  the  loveliness  of  this  land  of  enchantment 
between  Pike’s  Peak  and  the  Pacific. 

The  Brunswick 

Boston,  October,  1906 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  Page 

I.  With  Western  Stars  and  Sunsets  ...  3 

II.  Denver  the  Beautiful 15 

III.  The  Picturesque  Region  of  Pike’s  Peak  . 51 

IV.  Summer  Wanderings  in  Colorado  ...  94 

V.  The  Colorado  Pioneers 157 

VI.  The  Surprises  of  New  Mexico  . ...  182 

VII.  The  Story  of  Santa  Fe 207 

VIII.  Magic  and  Mystery  of  Arizona  «...  228 

IX.  The  Petrified  Forest  and  the  Meteorite 

Mountain 270 

X.  Los  Angeles,  the  Spell-Binder  ....  298 

XI.  Grand  Canon;  the  Carnival  of  the  Gods  311 

Index 339 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Picturesque  Bright  Angel  Trail,  Grand  Canon,  Arizona  Frontispiece 

Page 

Acoraa,  New  Mexico.  Two  Miles  Distant  13 

Summit  of  Pike’s  Peak,  Colorado 55 

Williams  Canon,  near  Manitou,  Colorado 64 

Seven  Falls,  Cheyenne  Canon,  near  Colorado  Springs,  Colorado  66 
St.  Peter’s  Dome,  on  the  Cripple  Creek  Short  Line  .....  71 

Approaching  Duffield  72 

Portland  and  Independence  Mines,' Victor,  Colorado  ....  75 

View  from  Bull  Hill,  Richest  Gulch  in  the  World 76 

The  Devil’s  Slide,  Cripple  Creek  Short  Line 80 

Colorado  Springs  and  Tunnel  No.  6,  Cripple  Creek  Short  Line  . 83 

Gateway  of  the  Garden  of  the  Gods,  Colorado  Springs,  Colorado  92 

Cathedral  Spires,  Garden  of  the  Gods,  Colorado  Springs, 

Colorado 92 

The  Walls  of  the  Canon,  Grand  River 99 

The  “ Fairy  Caves,”  Colorado  101 

Marshall  Pass  and  Mt.  Ouray,  Colorado . 103 

The  Wonderful  Hanging  Lake,  near  Glenwood  Springs,  Colorado  112 
Cathedral  Rocks,  Clyde  Park,  Cripple  Creek  Short  Line  . . . 137 

Sultan  Mountain 150 

Acoma,  New  Mexico 183 

The  Enchanted  Mesa,  New  Mexico  184 


Xll 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Paob 

Laguna,  New  Mexico 186 

Cliff  Dweller  Ruins,  near  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico 191 

Stone  Tent.  Cliff  Dwellers,  New  Mexico 191 

San  Miguel  Church,  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico 211 

“Watch  Tower.”  Cliff  Dwellers,  New  Mexico 215 

Cliff  Dwellers.  Within  Twenty-five  Miles  of  Santa  Fe,  New 

Mexico 215 

Petrified  Giants,  Third  Forest,  Arizona 228 

Collection  of  Cacti  made  by  Officers  at  Fort  McDowell,  Arizona, 

for  this  Picture 232 

Looking  through  a Part  of  the  River  Gorge,  Foot  of  Bad  Trail, 

Grand  Canon 240 

Suwara  (Giant  Cactus),  Salt  River  Valley,  Arizona 267 

San  Francisco  Peak,  near  Flagstaff,  Arizona 276 

Grand  Canon,  from  Grand  View  Point 316 

Zigzag,  Bright  Angel  Trail,  Grand  Canon 318 

A Cliff  on  Bright  Angel  Trail,  Grand  Canon 320 


THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


CHAPTER  1 

WITH  WESTERN  STARS  AND  SUNSETS 

♦ 

“ The  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars,  the  seas,  the  hills,  and  the  plains  — 

Are  not  these,  O Soul,  the  Vision  of  Him  who  reigns  f'"" 

Tennysok 

“ It  may  be  that  the  gulfs  will  wash  us  downi' 

Tennyson 

My  fathers  kingdom  is  so  large  that  people  perish  with  cold  at  one 
extremity  whilst  they  are  suffocated  with  heat  at  the  other." 

Cyrus  to  Xenophon 

The  good  American  of  the  Twentieth  century  by  no 
means  defers  going  to  Paris  until  he  dies,  but  antici- 
pates the  joys  of  Paradise  by  making  a familiarity  with 
the  French  capital  one  of  the  consolations  that  tend  to 
the  alleviation  of  his  enforced  terrestrial  sojourn.  All 
Europe,  indeed,  has  become  the  pleasure-ground  of  Amer- 
ican tourists,  a large  proportion  of  whom  fail  to  realize 
that  in  our  own  country  there  are  enchanted  regions 
in  which  the  traveller  feels  that  he  has  been  caught 
up  in  The  starry  immensities  and  heard  the  words  not 
lawful  for  man  to  utter.  Within  the  limits  of  Colorado, 
New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  Southern  California  there  are 


4 THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


four  centres  of  sublime  and  unparalleled  scenic  sublimity 
which  stand  alone  and  unrivalled  in  the  world.  Neither 
the  Alps  nor  the  Himalayas  can  offer  any  parallel  to  the  phe- 
nomena of  the  mountain  and  desert  systems  of  the  South- 
west as  wrought  by  the  march  of  ages,  presenting  unique 
and  incomparable  problems  of  scientific  interest  that  defy 
solution,  and  which  are  inviting  the  constant  study  and 
increasing  research  of  many  among  the  most  eminent  spe- 
cialists of  the  day  in  geology  and  metallurgy.  The  Pike’s 
Peak  region  offers  to  the  traveller  not  only  the  ascent  of  the 
stupendous  Peak,  but  also  the  “ Short  Line  ” trip  between 
Colorado  Springs  and  Cripple'Creek,  which  affords  forty-five 
miles  of  marvellous  mountain  and  canon  effects.  The 
engineering  problem  of  the  ascent  of  St.  Peter’s  Dome,  — 
a huge  mass  of  granite  towering  eleven  thousand  feet  into 
the  air,  around  which  the  steel  track  winds  in  terraces,  glory 
after  glory  of  view  repeating  itself  from  the  ascending  vistas 
as  the  train  climbs  the  dizzy  height, — the  engineering 
problem  that  is  here  at  once  presented  and  solved,  has 
attracted  scientific  attention  all  over  the  world  as  the  most 
extraordinary  achievement  in  mountain  transportation. 
The  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado  in  Arizona,  two  days’ 
journey  from  the  Pike’s  Peak  region,  the  Petrified  Forests 
that  lie  also  in  Arizona,  seventy-five  miles  beyond  the 
border  of  New  Mexico,  and  that  Buried  Star  near  Canon 
Diablo,  make  up  a group  that  travellers  and  scientists 
are  beginning  ardently  to  appreciate.  Colorado,  New 


WESTERN  STARS  AND  SUNSETS  5 


Mexico,  Arizona,  and  Southern  California  offer,  all  in  all, 
a landscape  panorama  that  for  grandeur,  charm  of  climate, 
and  rich  and  varied  resources  is  unrivalled.  Imagination 
falters  before  the  resources  of  this  region  and  the  induce- 
ments it  offers  as  a locality  in  which  to  live  surrounded  by 
perpetual  beauty.  The  air  is  all  exhilaration  ; the  deep 
blue  skies  are  a miracle  of  color  by  day,  and  a miracle 
of  shining  firmament  by  night ; the  land  offers  its  richly 
varied  returns  in  agriculture,  fruit,  mining,  or  grazing, 
according  to  the  specific  locality ; the  inhabitants  repre- 
sent the  best  quality  of  American  life ; the  opportunities 
and  advantages  already  offered  and  constantly  increasing 
are  greater  than  would  at  first  be  considered  possible. 
This  entire  Southwest  can  only  be  accurately  defined  as 
the  Land  of  Enchantment. 

“Yet  all  experience  is  an  arch  where  thro’ 

Gleams  that  untravell’d  world,” 

exclaims  Tennyson’s  Ulysses,  and  the  wanderer  under 
Western  stars  that  hang,  like  blazing  clusters  of  radiant 
light,  midway  in  the  air,  cannot  but  feel  that  all  these 
new  experiences  open  to  him  vistas  of  untold  significance 
and  undreamed-of  inspiration. 

“ It  may  be  we  shall  touch  the  Happy  Isles,” 

is  the  haunting  refrain  of  his  thoughts  when,  through  the 
luminous  air,  he  gazes  into  the  golden  glory  of  sunsets 
whose  splendor  is  forever  impressed  on  his  memory. 


G 


THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Every  hour  of  the  journey  through  the  Southwest  is 
an  hour  of  enchantment  in  the  intense  interest  of  the 
scenes.  One  must  not  miss  the  outlook  when  descending 
the  steep  grade  down  Raton  Mountain  ; nor  must  he  fail 
to  be  on  the  alert  in  passing  through  the  strange  old 
pueblos  of  Isleta  and  Acoma ; he  must  not  miss  Canon 
Diablo  when  crossing  that  wonderful  chasm  on  the  won- 
derful bridge,  nor  the  gleam  of  the  Lowell  Observatory 
at  Flagstaff  on  its  pine-clad  hill-slope,  nor  fail  to  gaze  on 
the  purple  Franciscan  peaks  on  which  the  lingering  sunset 
rays  recall  to  him  the  poet’s  line, — 

“Day  in  splendid  purple  dying.” 

Like  a modern  Telemachus  he  sees  “ the  baths  of  all  the 
western  stars.” 

Between  La  Junta  in  Colorado  and  Los  Angeles  in  Cali- 
fornia there  lies  a journey  which,  in  connection  with  its 
side  trips,  is  unequalled,  because  there  is  only  one  Grand 
Canon,  one  Pike’s  Peak  with  its  adjacent  wonderland,  and 
because,  as  a rule,  elsewhere  in  the  United  States  — or  in 
the  world,  for  that  matter,  — forests  do  not  turn  into 
stone  nor  stars  hurl  themselves  into  the  earth  with  a 
force  that  buries  them  too  deep  for  resurrection.  Through 
the  East  and  the  Middle  West  the  mountains  do  not,  on 
general  principles,  attempt  any  competition  with  the  clouds, 
but  content  themselves  with  the  gentle  altitude  of  a mile 
or  so  ; the  stars  stay  decorously  in  the  firmament  and  are 
not  shooting  madly  about,  trying  fantastic  Jules  Verne 


WESTERN  STARS  AND  SUNSETS  7 

experiments  to  determine  whether  or  not  they  can  shine 
better  from  the  centre  of  the  earth  than  from  their  natural 
place  in  the  upper  air  ; the  stars  of  the  Eastern  skies 
“ stand  pat,””  so  to  speak,  and  are  not  flying  in  the  face 
of  the  universe  ; so  that,  altogether,  in  these  regions  it 
would  seem  quite  evident  that 

“ The  world  is  built  in  order. 

And  the  atoms  march  in  tune.” 

These  exceptional  variations  to  the  established  order, 
however,  — these  wonderful  peaks  and  canons  and  forests 
and  gardens  of  gods,  — all  these  enchanted  things  lie,  nat- 
urally, within  the  Land  of  Enchantment,  within  this  vast 
territorial  expanse  replete  with  many  other  attractions. 
From  La  Junta  let  the  traveller  journey  into  Colorado 
with  its  splendor  of  resources,  and  in  gazing  upon  the 
stately,  solemn  impressiveness  of  the  Snowy  Range  he 
cannot  but  feel  that  Nature  has  predestined  Colorado 
for  the  theatre  of  noble  life  and  realize  the  influence  as' 
all-pervading.  Infinite  possibilities  open  before  one  as 
an  alluring  vista,  and  he  hears  the  refrain,  — 

“ My  spirit  beats  her  mortal  bars 
As  down  dark  tides  the  glory  slides 
And  star-like  mingles  with  the  stars.” 

With  the  excursions  offered,  — grand  panoramas  of 
mountain  views  where  the  tourist  from  his  lofty  perch  in 
the  observation-car  looks  down  on  clouds  and  on  peaks 
and  pinnacles  far  below  the  heights  to  which  his  train 


8 THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


climbs,  — with  the  cogwheel  road  ascending  Pike’s  Peak, 
the  fascinating  drives  through  Cheyenne  Canon,  the  Gar- 
den of  the  Gods,  Ute  Pass,  and  around  Glen  Eyrie,  and  with 
the  luxurious  ease  of  life  at  “ The  Antlers,”  the  traveller 
finds  fairly  a new  world,  rich  in  suggestion  and  wide  out- 
look. This  attractive  region  is,  however,  only  one  of  the 
central  points  of  interest  in  Colorado.  Denver,  the  bril- 
liant and  fascinating  capital  ; Pueblo,  the  metropolis  of 
Southern  Colorado  ; Glenwood  Springs,  the  romantic  and 
fashionable  watering  place  and  summer  resort  high  up  in  the 
mountains  on  the  beautiful  “ scenic  route”  of  the  Denver 
and  Rio  Grande ; Boulder,  the  picturesque  mountain  town, 
with  its  State  University  so  ably  conducted  ; Greeley,  the 
town  of  the  “ Union  Colony,”  whose  romantic  and  tragic 
story  is  a part  of  the  great  history  of  the  Centennial 
State,  and  where  an  admirable  normal  school  draws  stu- 
dents from  all  over  the  country,  even  including  New  Eng- 
land,— these  and  a wealth  of  other  features  offer  interest 
that  is  coming  to  engage  the  attention  of  the  civilized 
world. 

New  Mexico  has  been  more  or  less  considered  as  one  of 
the  impossible  and  uncivilized  localities,  or  has  failed  to 
establish  any  claim  to  being  considered  at  all  ; yet  here 
is  a territory  whose  climate  is  simply  delightful  by  virtue 
of  its  altitude,  — cool  in  summer  and  mild  and  sunny  in 
winter,  — whose  mines  of  amethysts  and  other  precious 
stones  suggest  developments  yet  undreamed  of ; whose 


WESTERN  STARS  AND  SUNSETS  9 


ethnological  interest,  in  the  marvellous  remains  of  Cliff- 
dwellers  and  of  a people  far  antedating  any  authentic 
records,  enchains  the  scientist ; a territory  whose  future 
promises  almost  infinitely  varied  riches  in  many  directions 
of  its  development. 

Arizona  is  simply  a treasure  land.  If  it  offered  only 
that  enthralling  feature,  the  Grand  Canon,  it  would 
be  a central  point  of  pilgrimage  for  the  entire  civilized 
world  ; but  even  aside  from  this,  — the  sublimest  vision 
ever  offered  to  human  eye,  ~ even  aside  from  the  Grand 
Canon,  which  dominates  the  world  as  the  most  sublime 
spectacle,  — Arizona  offers  the  fascinations  of  the  Painted 
Desert,  the  Tonto  Basin,  the  uncanny  buttes  that 
loom  up  in  grotesque  shapes  on  the  horizon,  the 
dreamy  lines  of  mountain  ranges,  the  strange  pueblos, 
the  productive  localities  where  grains  and  where  fruits 
and  flowers  grow  with  tropical  luxuriance,  the  Pet- 
rified Forests,  and  the  exquisite  coloring  of  sky  and 
atmosphere. 

Southern  California,  with  its  brilliantly  fascinating  me- 
tropolis, Los  Angeles ; the  neighboring  city  of  Pasadena, 
the  “ Crown  of  the  Valley  ” ; with  an  en tensive  electric 
trolley-car  connection  with  towns  within  a radius  of  fifty 
miles,  and  other  distinctive  and  delightful  features,  almost 
each  one  of  which  might  well  furnish  a separate  chapter  of 
description  ; with  mountain  trips  made  easy  and  enjoyable 
by  the  swift  electric  lines,  — all  this  region  fascinates  the 


10  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


imaerination  and  indicates  new  and  wonderful  vistas  of  life 
in  the  immediate  future.  The  vast  and  varied  resources 
of  the  great  Southwest  will  also,  as  they  are  developed, 
increasingly  affect  the  economic  aspects  of  the  country. 

To  the  traveller  one  fact  stands  out  in  especial  promi- 
nence, and  that  is  that  the  traditional  primitive  conditions 
in  this  region  hardly  continue  to  exist.  The  picturesque 
aspects  of  nature  form  the  stage  setting  to  very-much-up- 
to-date  life.  The  opportunities  and  advantages  already 
offered  and  constantly  increasing  are  greater  than  would 
at  first  be  considered  possible.  In  isolated  homes  on  the 
desert  the  children  of  the  family  will  be  found  studying 
the  higher  mathematics,  taking  music  lessons,  or  receiving 
lessons  in  languages  (classic,  or  the  romance  languages) 
from  some  one  in  the  neighborhood  who  is  able  to  give 
such  instruction.  If  any  traveller  expects  to  encounter  the 
traditional  “ cow-boy  aspects  of  life,  he  wull  be  very  much 
disappointed.  There  is  no  refinement  of  life  in  the  East 
that  is  not  mirrored  and  duplicated  in  the  West.  There 
are  no  aspirations,  no  ideals,  no  fine  culture  in  the  East 
that  have  not  their  corresponding  aspects  in  the  great 
West.  In  fact,  in  many  ways  the  West  begins  where  the 
East  leaves  off.  For  instance,  the  new  towns  of  the  West 
that  have  sprung  up  within  the  past  twenty  years  have 
never  known  what  it  was  to  have  gas  or  horse-cars. 
They  begin  with  electric  lights  and  electric  transit.  Their 
schoolhouses  are  built  with  up-to-date  methods,  and  the 


WESTERN  STARS  AND  SUNSETS  II 


houses,  however  modest,  are  constructed  with  a taste  and 
a beauty  unknown  in  the  rural  regions  of  the  East.  The 
square  white  house  with  green  blinds  and  a straight 
stone-paved  pathway  to  the  front  gate,  so  common  in  New 
England,  is  not  seen  in  the  West.  Instead,  the  most 
modest  little  structure  has  its  piazza,  its  projecting  bay 
window  thrown  out,  its  balcony  — something,  at  all  events, 
tasteful  and  beautiful  to  the  eye. 

The  journey  from  La  Junta  (in'  Colorado)  to  Los  An- 
geles offers  a series  of  enthralling  pictorial  effects  that  are 
invested  with  all  the  refinements  of  civilized  life  delight- 
fully devoid  of  its  commonplaceness.  These  long  trans- 
continental trains  with  two  engines,  one  at  the  front  and 
one  at  the  rear,  with  their  different  grades  of  the  Pull- 
man, the  tourist,  and  the  emigrant  car  service,  are  as  dis- 
tinctive a feature  of  the  twentieth  century  as  the  “ prairie 
schooners  ” were  of  the  early  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. The  real  journey  begins,  of  course,  at  Chicago, 
and  as  these  trains  leave  in  the  evening  the  traveller  fares 
forth  in  the  seclusion  of  his  berth  in  the  Pullman.  The 
nights  on  a sleeping-car  may  be  a very  trance  of  ecstasy 
to  one  who  loves  to  watch  the  panorama  of  the  skies. 
Raise  the  curtain,  pile  up  the  pillows  to  the  angle  that 
one  can  gaze  without  lifting  the  head,  and  what  ethereal 
visions  one  is ’wafted  through  ! One  has  a sense  of  flying 
in  the  air  among  the  starry  spaces,  especially  if  he  chances 
to  have  the  happy  fortune  of  a couch  on  the  side  where 


12  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


the  moon  is  shining  down,  — a midsummer  moon,  with 
stars,  and  filmy,  flitting  clouds,  — when  the  panorama  of 
the  air  becomes  the  enchantment  of  a dream. 

It  is,  literally,  “ such  stuff  as  dreams  are  made  of,”  and 
when  one  drops  off  into  slumber,  he  utilizes  it  for  his 
fancies  of  the  night.  Miss  Harriet  Hosmer,  the  famous 
sculptor,  once  related  a story  of  a night  journey  she  took 
with  a party  of  congenial  spirits  on  horseback  between 
Rome  and  Florence.  By  way  of  “ a lark  ” they  rested  by 
day  and  rode  by  night,  and  the  beauty  of  the  effects  of 
light  and  shade  sank  into  her  mind  so  that  she  drew 
on  them  thirty  years  or  more  later  for  the  wonderful 
designs  in  her  great  “ Gates,”  which  even  rival  those 
of  Ghiberti.  “ The  night  hath  counsel  ” and  suggestion 
of  artistic  beauty  as  well,  and  the  effects  that  one  may  get 
from  a flying  train  are  impossible  to  obtain  under  any 
other  condition.  After  all,  is  it  not  a part  of  the  fine 
art  of  living  to  take  the  enjoyment  of  the  moment  as  it 
comes,  in  whatever  guise,  without  lamenting  that  it  is  not 
something  else  ? 

These  splendidly  equipped  trains  of  the  Santa  Fe  ser- 
vice admit  very  little  dust ; the  swift  motion  keeps  up  a 
constant  breeze,  and  some  necromancy  of  perpetual  vigi- 
lance surrounds  the  traveller  with  exceptional  cleanliness 
and  personal  comfort.  One  experiences  a certain  sense  of 
detachment  from  ordinary  day  and  daylight  duties  that 
is  exhilarating. 


ACOMA.  TWO  MILES  DISTANT 


WESTERN  STARS  AND  SUNSETS  13 


Kansas  City,  the  gateway  to  the  great  Southwest, 
might  well  claim  attention  as  an  important  manufacturing 
and  distributing  centre ; Kansas  itself,  once  the  bed  of  an 
inland  sea,  is  not  without  scientific  interest  for  the  deposits 
of  gypsum  and  salt  that  have  left  the  soil  so  fertile,  as  well 
as  for  strange  fossils  revealing  gigantic  animals,  both 
land  and  aquatic,  that  have  lived  there,  — the  mas- 
todon, rhinoceros,  elephant,  the  crocodile  and  shark, 
— many  of  whose  skeletons  are  preserved  in  the  Na- 
tional Museum  in  Washington.  The  prosperous  inland 
cities  with  their  schools  and  colleges,  their  beautiful 
homes  and  constant  traffic,  — all  these  features  of  Kansas, 
the  state  of  heroic  history,  are  deeply  impressive.  But 
it  is  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  with  which 
these  pages  are  chiefly  concerned,  and  the  especially 
picturesque  aspects  of  the  journey  begin  with  La 
Junta. 

Entering  Colorado,  the  plateau  is  four  thousand  feet 
above  sea  level,  and  constantly  rising.  This  altitude  ren- 
ders the  climate  of  New  Mexico  particularly  invigorating 
and  delightful. 

The  most  romantic  and  poetically  enchanting  regions  of 
the  United  States  are  entered  into  on  this  journey,  in 
which  easy  detours  allow  one  to  visit  that  mysterious 
“ City  in  the  Sky,"”  the  pueblo  of  Acoma,  near  Albuquer- 
que in  New  Mexico  ; to  make  excursions  to  Montezuma’s 
Well ; to  the  mysterious  ruin  of  Casa  Grande  ; to  the  Twin 


14  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Lakes  (which  lie  on  a mountain  crest);  and  to  study 
other  marvels  of  nature  in  Arizona.  The  splendors  of 
Colorado,  with  the  myriad  mountain  peaks  and  silver  lakes, 
the  mysterious  canons  and  deep  gorges,  the  rose- 
flushed  valleys  lying  fair  under  a sapphire  sky  in  the 
luminous  golden  atmosphere,  and  the  profound  interest  in- 
spired in  the  general  social  tone  of  life  in  its  educational, 
economic,  and  religious  aspects,  invest  a summer-day  tour 
through  the  Land  of  Enchantment  with  all  the  glory  and 
the  freshness  of  a dream. 


4 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL 


15 


CHAPTER  II 

DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL 

“ I will  make  me  a city  of  gliding  and  vnde-wayed  silence^ 

With  a highway  of  glass  and  of  gold  ; 

With  life  of  a colored  peace,  and  a lucid  leisure. 

Of  smooth  electrical  ease. 

Of  sweet  excursion  of  noiseless  and  hrilliant  travel. 

With  room  in  your  streets  for  the  soul.  ” 

Stephen  Phillips 

Denver  the  Beautiful  is  the  dynamo  of  Western  civi- 
lization, and  the  keynote  to  the  entire  scale  of  life  in  Col- 
orado. The  atmosphere  seems  charged  with  high  destiny. 
“ I worship  with  wonder  the  great  Fortune,”  said  Emerson, 
using  the  term  in  the  universal  sense,  “ and  find  it  none 
too  large  for  use.  My  receptivity  matches  its  greatness.” 
The  receptivity  of  the  dwellers  in  this  splendid  environ- 
ment seems  to  match  its  greatness,  and  expand  with  the 
increase  of  its  vast  resources.  As  Paris  is  France,  so 
Denver  is  Colorado.  Hardly  any  other  commonwealth 
and  its  capital  are  in  such  close  relation,  unless  it  be  that 
of  Massachusetts  and  Boston.  Colorado  is  a second  Italy, 
rather  than  Switzerland,  as  it  has  been  called.  Over  it 
bends  the  Italian  sky ; its  luminous  atmosphere  is  that 
of  Dante’s  country;  at  night  the  stars  hang  low  as  they 


16  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


hang  over  the  heights  of  San  Miniato  in  fair  Florence ; 
the  mountain  coloring,  when  one  has  distance  enough, 
has  the  soft  melting  purple  and  amethyst  lights  of  the 
Apennines,  and  the  courtesy  of  the  people  is  not  less 
marked  than  in  the  land  of  the  olive  and  the  myrtle. 
Then,  too,  the  light  — the  resplendent  and  luminous  ef- 
fect of  the  atmosphere  — is  like  that  of  no  other  state. 
The  East  is  dark  by  comparison  with  this  transparency 
of  golden  light. 

As  the  metropolis  of  the  great  West  between  Chicago 
and  the  Pacific  Coast,  Denver  has  a continual  procession 
of  visitors  from  all  countries,  who  pause  in  the  overland 
journey  to  study  the  outlook  of  the  most  wonderful  state 
in  the  Union,  — that  of  the  richest  and  most  varied  re- 
sources. To  find  within  the  limits  of  one  state  resources 
that  include  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  zinc,  coal,  and  tin 
mines  ; agriculture,  horticulture,  stock  raising,  manufac- 
tures, and  oil  wells,  sounds  like  a fiction ; yet  this  is  lit- 
erally true.  Add  to  these  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  sublime  scenery  in  the  world,  the  best  modern  appli- 
ances, and  the  most  intelligent  and  finely  aspiring  class 
of  people,  and  one  has  an  outline  of  the  possibilities  of 
the  Centennial  State. 

Denver  is,  geographically,  the  central  city  of  the  country, 
equally  accessible  from  both  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific 
coasts,  from  the  North  and  the  South.  It  has  the  finest 
climate  of  the  continent ; its  winters  are  all  sunshine  and 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL  17 


exhilaration,  with  few  cloudy  or  stormy  days  ; its  summers 
are  those  in  which  oppressive  heat  is  hardly  known,  and 
the  nights  are  invariably  cool.  It  is  a great  railroad 
centre ; it  has  infinite  space  in  which  to  extend  itself 
m any  direction ; it  has  unsurpassed  beauty  of  location. 
No  city  west  of  Chicago  concentrates  so  many  desirable 
features,  for  all  this  wealth  of  resource  and  loveliness  of 
scenic  setting  is  the  theatre  of  noble  energy  and  high 
achievement.  Denver  is  only  twenty-six  hours  from 
Chicago ; it  is  but  forty-five  hours  from  New  York. 
Although  apparently  a city  of  the  plains,  it  is  a mile 
above  sea  level,  and  is  surrounded  with  more  than  two 
hundred  miles  of  mountain  ranges,  whose  changeful  color, 
in  royal  purple,  deep  rose,  amber,  pale  blue,  gleams 
through  the  transparent  air  against  the  horizon.  The 
business  and  hotel  part  of  Denver  lies  on  a lower  level, 
while  the  Capitol,  a superb  building  of  Colorado  marble, 
and  all  the  best  residential  region,  is  on  a higher  plateau. 
The  Capitol  has  the  novel  decoration  of  an  electric  flag, 
so  arranged  that  through  colored  glass  of  red,  white,  and 
blue  the  intense  light  shines. 

The  Denver  residential  region  is  something  unusual 
within  general  municipal  possibilities,  as  it  has  unbounded 
territory  over  which  to  expand,  thus  permitting  each  home 
to  have  it  own  grounds,  nearly  all  of  which  are  spacious ; 
and  these,  with  the  broad  streets  lined  with  trees,  give 
to  this  part  of  the  city  the  appearance  of  an  enormous 


18  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


park.  For  miles  these  avenues  and  streets  extend,  all 
traversed  by  swift  electric  cars  that  so  annihilate  time  and 
space  that  a man  may  live  five,  ten,  or  a dozen  miles  from 
his  place  of  business  and  call  it  all  joy.  He  insures 
himself  pure  air,  beautiful  views,  and  an  abundance  of 
ground.  If  the  family  desires  to  go  into  the  city  for 
evening  lectures,  concerts,  or  the  theatre,  the  transit  is 
swift  and  enjoyable.  They  control  every  convenience. 
These  individual  villas  are  all  fire-proof.  The  municipal 
law  requires  the  buildings  to  be  of  brick  or  stone,  thus 
making  Denver  a practically  fireproof  city.  Both  the 
business  blocks  and  the  homes  share  the  benefit  of  the 
improved  modern  taste  in  architecture.  The  city  of 
Denver  covers  an  area  of  eighty-nine  square  miles,  and 
these  limits  are  soon  to  be  extended. 

The  Capitol  has  an  enchanting  mountain, view  ; it  also 
contains  a fine  museum  of  historic  relics  found  in  Colorado 
from  clifF-dwellings  and  other  points.  A million  dollars 
has  been  offered  — and  refused  — for  this  state  collection. 
The  City  Park,  covering  nearly  four  hundred  acres,  with 
its  two  lakes,  its  beds  of  flowers  and  groups  of  shrubbery ; 
its  casino,  where  an  orchestra  plays  every  afternoon  in  the 
summer,  while  dozens  of  carriages  and  motor  cars  with 
their  tastefully  dressed  occupants  draw  up  and  listen  to 
the  music,  is  a centre  of  attraction  to  both  residents  and 
visitors.  This  park  is  to  Denver  as  is  the  Pincian  Hill  to 
Rome,  or  as  Hyde  Park  to  London,  — the  fashionable  drive 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL  19 


and  rendezvous.  Great  beds  of  scarlet  geraniums  contrast 
with  the  emerald  green  of  the  grass,  while  here  and  there 
a fountain  throws  its  spray  into  the  air.  Far  away  on 
the  horizon  are  the  encircling  mountains  in  view  for  over 
two  hundred  miles,  the  ranges  taking  on  all  the  colors  of 
fairyland,  while  a deep  turquoise  sky,  soft  and  beautiful, 
bends  over  the  entire  panorama.  From  this  plateau  four 
great  peaks  are  in  view : Pike’s  Peak,  seventy-five  miles  to 
the  siuth  ; Long’s,  Gray’s,  and  James’s  peaks,  all  distinctly 
silhouetted  against  the  sky,  rising  from  the  serrated  range 
which  connects  them.  During  these  open-air  concerts 
in  the  park  there  is  a midsummer  holiday  air  over  the 
scene  as  if  all  the  city  were  en  fHe. 

The  architectural  scheme  of  Denver’s  residential  region 
harmonizes  with  the  landscape.  The  houses  are  not  the 
palaces  of  upper  Fifth  Avenue  and  Riverside  drive,  or  of 
Massachusetts  or  Connecticut  avenues  in  Washington  ; 
but  there  is  hardly  an  individual  residence  that  has  not 
legitimate  claim  to  beauty.  The  tower,  the  oriel  win- 
dow, and  the  broad  balcony  are  much  in  evidence;  and 
the  piazza,  with  its  swinging  seat,  its  easy  chairs,  and 
table  disposed  on  a bright  rug,  suggest  a charm  of  vie  in- 
time  that  appeals  to  the  passer-by.  Books,  papers,  and 
magazines  are  scattered  over  the  table  : the  home  has  the 
unmistakable  air  of  being  lived  in  and  enjoyed  ; of  being 
the  centre  of  a happy,  intelligent  life,  buoyant  with  enter- 
prise and  energy,  and  identified  with  the  social  progress  of 


20  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


the  day.  On  the  greenest  of  lawn  a jet  of  water  or,  in 
many  cases,  a fountain  plays,  the  advantage  of  an  irrigated 
country  being  that  the  householder  creates  and  controls 
his  own  climatic  conditions.  The  rain,  — it  raineth 
every  day  when  irrigation  determines  the  shower ; roses 
grow  in  riotous  profusion  on  the  lawn,  and  the  crimson 
“ rambler  ’’  climbs  the  portico ; lilies  nod  in  the  luminous 
gold  of  the  sunshine,  and  all  kinds  of  foliage  plants  lend 
their  rich  color  to  these  beautiful  grounds  that  surround 
every  home.  To  the  children  growing  up  in  Denver  the 
spectacle  of  dreary  streets  would  be  as  much  of  a novelty 
as  the  ruins  of  Karnak.  The  line  that  divides  the  past 
from  the  present  is  not  only  very  definite,  but  also  very 
recent,  as  is  indicated  by  the  question  of  a five-year-old 
lad  who  wonderingly  asked : “ Mamma,  did  they  ever 
have  horses  draw  the  trolley  cars  ? ” The  mastodon  is 
not  more  remote  in  antiquity  to  the  man  or  woman  of 
to-day  than  was  the  idea  of  horses  drawing  a car  to  this 
child.  Between  the  nineteenth  and  the  twentieth  cen- 
turies the  gulf  of  demarcation  is  almost  as  wide  as  between 
the  fifteenth  and  the  nineteenth. 

The  streets  of  Denver  are  very  broad,  usually  planted 
with  trees,  and  the  smooth  roads  offer  an  earthly  paradise 
to  the  motor-car  transit  that  abounds  in  Denver.  One 
of  the  happy  excursions  is  that  of  motoring  to  Colorado 
Springs,  seventy-five  miles  distant,  a constant  entertain- 
ment. With  the  splendid  electric-transit  system,  anni- 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL  21 


hilating  distance  ; with  the  broad  streets  paved  after  the 
best  modern  methods  ; with  the  wide  and  smooth  side- 
walks of  Colorado  stone  and  the  almost  celestial  charm 
of  the  view,  city  life  is  transformed.  Telephonic  service 
is  practically  universal ; electric  lighting  and  an  admirable 
water  system  are  among  the  easy  conveniences  of  this  sec- 
tion, which  is  not  yet  suburban  because  of  its  complete 
identification  with  all  other  parts  of  the  city. 

The  universality  of  telephonic  intercourse  in  Colorado 
would  go  far  to  support  the  theory  of  Dr.  Edward  Everett 
Hale  that  the  time  will  come  when  writing  will  be  a lost 
art,  and  will  be  considered,  at  best,  as  a clumsy  and  la- 
borious means  of  communication  in  much  the  same 
manner  that  the  late  centuries  regard  the  production  of 
the  manuscript  book  before  the  invention  of  the  art  of 
printing.  In  few  cities  is  the  telephone  service  carried 
out  to  such  constant  colloquial  use  as  in  Denver.  The 
traveller  finds  in  his  room  a telephone  as  a matter  of 
course,  and  there  are  very  few  quarters  of  an  hour  when 
the  bell  does  not  summon  him  to  chat  with  a friend, 
from  one  on  the  same  floor  of  the  hotel  to  one  who  is 
miles  away  in  the  city,  or  even  fifty  or  a hundred  miles 
distant,  as  at  Greeley,  Colorado  Springs,  or  Pueblo. 

“ How  are  you  to-day  ? ” questions  the  friendly  voice. 
‘‘  Did  you  see  so-and-so  in  the  morning  papers  ? And 
what  do  you  think  about  it  ? and  can  you  be  ready  at 
eleven  to  go  to  hear  Mrs.  lecture.?^  and  at  one  will 


22  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


you  lunch  with  Mrs.  ? the  entire  conversation  to  be 

in  Italian  ? and  could  you  go  at  about  four  this  afternoon 
to  a tea  to  meet  an  Oriental  Princess  who  will  discuss 
the  laws  of  reincarnation?  and  will  you  also  dine  with 
us  at  seven,  and  go  later  to  the  Woman’s  Municipal 
Club  that  holds  a conference  to-night  ? ” All  those  lovely 
things  fall  upon  one  with  apparently  no  thought  of  its 
being  an  unusual  day  — this  is  Denver ! This  is  twenti- 
eth-century life.  This  is  an  illustration  of  what  can  be 
done  when  the  non-essential  is  eliminated  from  the  days 
and  that  which  is  essential  is  felicitously  pursued. 

When  the  Denver  woman  remarked  to  the  Eastern 
woman  sojourner  within  the  gates  that  she  was  unable  to 
be  away  that  autumn  on  any  extended  absence,  as  the 
campaign  was  to  be  more  than  usually  important,  the 
wanderer  from  the  Atlantic  shore  irreverently  laughed. 
Her  hostess  endeavored  (unsuccessfully)  not  to  seem 
shocked  by  this  levity  regarding  serious  subjects.  She  re- 
membered that  there  were  extenuating  circumstances,  and 
that  the  Eastern  women  had  really  never  had  a fair  chance 
in  life.  Their  part,  she  reflected,  consisted  in  obeying  laws 
and  abiding  by  whatever  was  decreed,  with  no  voice  al- 
lowed to  express  their  own  preferences  or  convictions.  She 
remembered  that  a proportion  of  the  feminine  New  England 
intellect  consecrates  its  powers  and  its  time  to  extended 
researches  in  the  Boston  Public  Library  and  in  the  vener- 
able records  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  in 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL 


23 


a perpetual  quest  of  information  regarding  its  ancestors, 
who  are  worshipped  with  the  zeal  and  fervor  of  the 
Japanese.  The  Boston  woman,  indeed,  may  have  only  the 
most  vague  ideas  regarding  the  rate  bill,  the  problem  of 
the  Philippines,  the  Panama  Canal,  or  the  next  Governor 
of  Massachusetts  ; but  she  is  thoroughly  conversant  with 
all  the  details  of  the  Mayflower  and  her  own  ancestral 
dignities.  Recognizing  the  New  England  passion  for  its 
ancestry,  a leading  Boston  journal  offers  a page,  weekly, 
to  open  correspondence  on  the  momentous  question  as  to 
whether  Winthrop  Bellingham  married  Priscilla  Patience 
Mather  in  1699  or  in  1700,  and  a multitude  of  similar 
questions  concerning  the  vanished  centuries.  The  Denver 
woman  realized  all  this  and  was  discreetly  charitable  in 
her  judgment  of  her  friend’s  failure  to  recognize  the  sig- 
nificant side  of  the  political  enfranchisement  of  women  in 
Colorado.  For  despite  some  actual  disadvantages  and 
defects  of  woman  suffrage  in  the  centennial  state,  and  a 
vast  amount  of  exaggerated  criticism  on  these  defects,  it  is 
yet  a benefit  to  the  four  states  that  enjoy  it,  — Colorado, 
Utah,  Idaho,  and  Wyoming. 

^ In  a majority  of  the  states  of  the  entire  nation  there 
is  a conviction  (and  one  not  without  its  claims)  that 
women  are  adequately  represented  and  protected  in  all 
their  rights,  as  things  are,  and  that  it  is  superfluous  to 
increase  the  vote. 

The  anti-suffrage  argument  suggests  many  reflections 


24  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


whose  truth  must  be  admitted,  and  this  side  of  the  con- 
troversy is  espoused  and  led  by  some  proporion  of  men 
and  women  whose  names  inspire  profound  respect,  if  not 
conviction,  with  their  belief.  Still,  the  fact  remains  that 
when  woman  suffrage  is  subjected  to  the  practical  test  of 
experience,  tlie  advantages  are  so  obvious,  its  efficacy  for 
good  so  momentous,  that  their  realization  fairly  compels  ac- 
ceptance. In  the  entire  nation  there  has  never  been  a man 
or  a woman  whose  clearness  and  profundity  of  intellect, 
moral  greatness,  and  sympathetic  insight  into  the  very 
springs  of  national  and  individual  life  exceeded  those  of  Lucy 
Stone,  the  remarkable  pioneer  in  the  political  emancipation 
of  women,  whose  logical  eloquence  and  winning,  beautiful 
personality  was  the  early  focus  of  this  movement.  Mrs. 
Stone  surrounded  herself  with  a noble  group,  — Mary  A. 
Livermore,  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Thomas  Wentworth  Hig- 
ginson,  and  others  whose  names  readily  suggest  them- 
selves, and  with  whom,  in  the  complete  companionship 
and  sympathy  of  her  husband.  Dr.  Henry  B.  Blackwell, 
she  successfully  worked,  even  though  the  final  success  has 
not  yet  been  achieved.  Other  gi’eat  and  noble  women  — 
Susan  B.  Anthony,  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  — consecrated 
their  entire  lives  and  remarkable  powers  to  the  early 
championship  of  woman  suffrage.  The  present  ranks  of 
women  workers  — the  younger  women  — are  so  numerous, 
and  they  include  so  large  a proportion  of  the  most  notable 
women  of  both  the  East  and  the  West,  that  volumes  would 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL 


25 


not  afford  sufficient  room  for  adequate  allusion.  In  Den- 
ver the  leading  people  are  fully  convinced  of  the  respon- 
sibility of  women  in  politics.  Although  the  ballot  has 
not  been  generally  granted  to  women,  the  very  movement 
toward  it  has  resulted  in  their  higher  education  and  their 
larger  freedom  in  all  ways.  The  situation  reminds  one  of 
the  “ subtle  ways  ” of  Emerson’s  Brahma : 

“ If  the  red  slayer  think  he  slays,' 

Or  if  the  slain  think  he  is  slain, 

They  know  not  well  the  subtle  ways 
I keep,  and  pass,  and  turn  again. 

“ Far  or  forgot  to  me  is  near; 

Shadow  and  sunlight  are  the  same  ; 

The  vanished  gods  to  me  appear ; 

And  one  to  me  are  shame  and  fame. 

“ They  reckon  ill  who  leave  me  out ; 

When  me  they  fly,  I am  the  wings; 

I am  the  doubter  and  the  doubt, 

And  I the  hymn  the  Brahmin  sings.” 

Apparently,  the  principle  of  woman  suffrage  has  sub- 
tle ways  ” in  which  “ to  pass  and  turn  again.”  It  has 
recently  turned  in  a manner  to  compel  a new  and  more 
profound  revision  of  all  opinion  and  argument. 

Colorado  presents  a most  interesting  field  for  the  study 
of  woman  suffrage,  and  from  any  fair  and  adequate  review 
of  its  workings  and  results  there  could  hardly  fail  to  be 
but  one  conclusion,  — that  of  its  signal  value  and  impor- 
tance as  a factor  in  human  progress.  One  of  its  special 


26  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


claims  is  of  a nature  not  down  on  the  bills,  — the  fact  of  the 
great  intellectual  enlargement  and  stimulus,  — aside  from 
its  results,  which  the  very  exercise  of  political  power  gives 
to  the  women  of  the  state.  It  is  seen  in  the  higher  qual- 
ity of  conversational  tone  and  the  tendency  to  eliminate 
the  inconsequential  and  the  inane  because  great  matters 
of  universal  interest  were  thus  brought  home  to  women 
in  connection  with  their  power  to  decide  on  these  mat- 
ters. This  result  is  perhaps  equally  seen  among  the 
women  who  rejoice  and  the  women  who  regret  the  fact  of 
their  political  enfranchisement.  For  in  Colorado,  as  well 
as  in  other  states,  there  is  a proportion  of  women  who  do 
not  believe  in  the  desirability  of  the  ballot  for  themselves. 
They  sincerely  regret  that  it  has  been , “ forced,”  as  they 
say,  upon  them.  This  proportion  in  Colorado  is  not 
a large  one,  but  it  includes  some  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  cultured  women,  just  as  an  enthusiastic  accept- 
ance of  the  ballot  includes  a much  larger  proportion  of 
this  higher  order  of  women.  However,  welcome  or  un- 
welcome, desired  or  not  desired,  the  ballot  is  there,  and 
so  the  women  who  regret  this  fact  yet  realize  its  responsi- 
bility and  feel  it  a moral  duty  to  use  it  wisely  as  well. 
And  so  they,  too,  study  great  questions,  and  discuss  them, 
and  fit  themselves  to  use  the  power  that  is  conferred  upon 
them.  All  this  reacts  on  the  general  tone  of  society,  and 
the  quality  of  conversation  at  ladies’  lunches,  at  teas, 
and  at  clubs,  is  of  a far  higher  order  than  is  often 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL  27 

found  in  other  states  among  the  more  purely  feminine 
gatherings. 

Among  the  women  who  have  successfully  admin- 
istered public  office  in  Colorado  was  the  late  Mrs. 
Helen  Grenfell,  whose  record  as  State  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction  was  so  remarkable  that  both 
political  parties  supported  her.  A Denver  journal  said 
of  her  : 

Mrs.  Grenfell’s  term  has  lasted  six  years,  the  last  two 
years  having  been  under  a Republican  administration,  al- 
though Mrs.  Grenfell  is  a Democrat.  Her  most  notable 
achievement  has  been  in  her  conduct  of  the  school  lands  of 
the  state,  making  them  valuable  sources  of  revenue.  Her 
policy  from  the  first  was  against  the  sale  of  the  school  lands, 
which  comprise  some  three  million  acres.  The  income  from 
such  sales  had  been  limited,  as  the  investments  w^ere  pre- 
scribed, and  the  interest  rate  rather  low,  as  Western  interest 
goes.  The  leasing  system  was  inaugurated  under  Mrs.  Gren- 
fell’s direction,  and  the  result  was  an  increase  of  school  reve- 
nues of  nearly  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  a year,  with  no 
decrease  in  the  capital.  The  Land  Department  of  the  state 
shares  the  credit  with  the  state  superintendent  of  public 
instruction,  as  they  have  administered  her  policy  wisely,  but 
the  policy  was  hers  alone.” 

Judge  Lindsay  of  Denver,  giving  an  official  opinion  as 
to  the  desirability  of  woman  suffrage  for  Colorado,  said : 


28  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Woman  suffrage  in  Colorado  for  over  ten  years  has  more 
than  demonstrated  its  justice.  No  one  would  dare  to  propose 
its  repeal  ; and^  if  left  to  the  men  of  the  state,  any  proposi- 
tion to  revoke  the  right  bestowed  upon  women  would  be 
overwhelmingly  defeated. 

Many  good  laws  have  been  obtained  in  Colorado  which 
would  not  have  been  secured  but  for  the  power  and  influence 
of  women. 

At  some  of  the  elections  in  Denver  frauds  have  been 
committed.  Ninety-nine  per  cent  of  these  frauds  were  com- 
mitted by  men,  without  any  connivance  or  assistance,  direct 
or  indirect,  from  women ; but  because  one  per  cent  were 
committed  by  women,  there  are  ignorant  or  careless-minded 
people  in  other  states  who  actually  argue  that  this  is  a reason 
for  denying  women  the  right  to  vote.  If  it  were  a just  reason 
for  denying  suffrage  to  women,  it  would  be  a ten  times  greater 
reason  for  denying  it  to  men. 

In  Colorado  it  has  never  made  women  any  the  less  wo- 
manly or  any  the  less  motherly,  or  interfered  with  their 
duties  in  the  home,  that  they  have  been  given  the  right  to 
participate  in  the  affairs  of  state. 

^^Many  a time  I have  heard  the  ^ boss’  in  the  political 
caucus  object  to  the  nomination  of  some  candidate  because  of 
his  bad  moral  character,  with  the  mere  explanation  that  if  the 
women  found  him  out  it  might  hurt  the  whole  ticket.  While 
many  bad  men  have  been  nominated  and  elected  to  office  in 
spite  of  woman  suffrage,  they  have  not  been  nominated  and 
elected  because  of  woman  suffrage.  If  the  women  alone  had 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL  29 


a right  to  vote;,  it  would  result  in  a class  of  men  in  public 
office  whose  character  for  morality,  honesty,  and  courage 
would  be  of  a much  higher  order.  . . . 

People  have  no  right  to  judge  woman  suffrage  in  Colorado 
by  the  election  frauds  in  a few  precincts.  The  election  frauds 
in  Philadelphia,  where  women  do  not  vote,  were  never  used 
as  a reason  why  suffrage  should  be  denied  to  men.  . . . 

With  women,  as  with  men,  it  requires  more  or  less  public 
sentiment  to  arouse  them  to  their  civic  duties ; but  when 
aroused,  as  they  frequently  are,  their  power  for  good  cannot 
be  overestimated.  Again,  the  very  fact  that  the  women  have 
such  a power  is  a wonderful  reserve  force  in  the  cause  of 
righteousness  in  Colorado,  and  has  been  a powerful  deterrent 
in  anticipating  and  opposing  the  forces  of  evil. 

It  does  not  take  any  mother  from  her  home  duties  or  cares 
to  spend  ten  minutes  in  going  to  the  polling  place  and  cast- 
ing her  vote  and  returning  to  the  bosom  of  her  home  ; but 
in  that  ten  minutes  she  wields  a power  that  is  doing  more  to 
protect  that  home  now,  and  will  do  more  to  protect  it  in  the 
future,  and  to  protect  all  other  homes,  than  any  power  or 
influence  in  Colorado. 

I know  that  the  great  majority  of  people  in  Colorado  favor 
woman  suffrage,  after  more  than  a decade  of  practical  experi- 
ence,— first,  because  it  is  fair,  just,  and  decent;  and  secondly, 
because  its  influence  has  been  good  rather  than  evil  in  our 
political  affairs.” 

Judge  Lindsay’s  words  represent  the  general  attitude  of 
the  representative  people  of  the  state. 


30  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


The  Hon.  Henry  M.  Teller,  senior  senator  of  Colorado, 
is  one  of  the  most  interesting  men  in  the  Centennial  State, 
and  the  traveller  who  may  meet  and  talk  with  him  is  im- 
pressed with  his  quiet  sincerity,  with  the  sense  of  reserved 
power  with  which  he  seems  endowed,  and  the  refinement 
and  directness  of  his  methods.  He  is  by  birth  an  Eastern 
man,  and  a graduate  of  Harvard  ; but  his  mature  life  has 
been  passed  in  Colorado.  As  a lawyer  his  law  office  claims 
much  of  his  time  and  thought,  even  with  all  the  great 
tide  of  national  interests  with  which  he  is  identified.  He 
is  a thorough  and,  indeed,  an  astute  politician ; not 
in  the  “ machine  ” sense,  but  with  a very  clear  and  com- 
prehensive grasp  of  the  situation  and  a large  infusion 
of  practical  sagacity.  Senator  Teller  is  in  no  sense  an 
enthusiast.  He  is  responsive  to  high  aims  and  high 
ideals ; he  knows  what  they  are,  so  to  speak ; he  recog- 
nizes them  on  sight ; he  never  falls  into  the  error  of  under- 
valuing them  ; but  he  is  not  a man  to  be  carried  away  by 
an  ecstatic  vision,  and  he  would  have  no  use  for  wings  at 
all  where  he  had  feet.  He  would  regard  the  solid  earth 
as  a better  foundation,  on  the  whole,  than  the  air,  and  one 
more  suited  to  existing  conditions. 

Senator  Teller  has  had  more  than  a quarter  of  a cen- 
tury’s experience  in  political  life  and  in  statesmanship. 
For  two  years  he  was  a member  of  the  Cabinet.  For 
twenty-seven  years  he  has  been  in  the  Senate,  where,  with 
Senator  Hoar  of  Massachusetts,  he  shared  the  highest 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL 


31 


honor,  and  the  most  absolute  confidence,  in  both  his  flaw- 
less integrity  and  conspicuous  ability,  that  the  Senate,  and 
the  nation  as  well,  can  give  to  him.' 

Senator  Patterson,  the  junior  senator  from  Colorado,  is 
a man  whom,  if  he  encounters  an  obstacle  does  not  grant 
it  the  dignity  of  recognition.  He  instantly  discovers  the 
end,  — the  desired  result, — and  declares,  per  saltum,  “It 
is  right ; it  should  be  done,  — it  shall  be  done.*”  Senator 
Patterson  is  a man  of  very  keen  perceptions  and  one  with 
whom  it  is  easy  to  come  into  touch  instantly  ; he  is  respon- 
sive, sympathetic,  full  of  faith  that  the  thing  that  ought 
to  be  accomplished  can  be  accomplished,  and  therefore  that 
it  shall  be.  Senator  Patterson  has  the  typical  American 
experience  of  successful  men  lying  behind  him.  He  was 
on  familiar  terms  with  the  intricacies  of  a newspapef*  office 
in  his  youth ; he  studied  in  an  Indiana  college  without 
an  annual  expenditure  of  that  twenty  thousand  dollars 
which  some  of  the  latter-day  Harvard  undergraduates  find 
indispensable  to  the  process  of  securing  their  “ B.  A,*”  and 
tradition  records,  indeed,  that  the  junior  Colorado  senator, 
in  the  prehistoric  days  of  his  youth,  set  out  for  the  foun- 
tain of  learning  with  a capital  of  forty  dollars ; that  he 
frugally  walked  from  Crawfordsville  to  Indianapolis  that 
he  might  not  deplete  his  financial  estate  which  was  des- 
tined to  buy  a scholarship,  and  that  in  this  unrecorded 
tour  in  th-e  too,  too  truly  rural  region  of  his  early  life,  he 
cleaned  two  clocks  on  the  way  in  payment  for  lodging,  and 


32  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

that  he  cleaned  them  uncommonly  well.  Of  all  this  tradi- 
tionary history  who  shall  say?  Senator  Patterson  is  a 
man  who  would  always  keep  faith  with  his  aims  and  con- 
victions. He  is  sunny  and  full  of  wit,  and  full  of  faith 
in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  good  things  in  general,  and  is, 
all  in  all,  one  of  the  most  genial  and  delightful  of  men  — 
and  senators. 

It  is  related  that  Senator  Patterson  first  dawned  upon 
Denver  in  its  primeval  period  of  1872,  when  its  municipal 
affairs  were  conducted  by  two  prominent  — if  not  eminent 
— gentlemen,  one  of  whom  was  the  champion  gambler, 
and  the  other  the  champion  brewer  of  the  metropolis. 
There  were  eleven  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety-eight 
other  citizens  in  this  municipality  besides  the  brewer  and 
the  gambler  (and  the  population  was  said  to  have  been 
twelve  thousand  in  all),  and  the  eleven  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  ninety-eight,  like  “ The  Ten  ” of  early  Floren- 
tine history,  decided  that  would  “ reform  the  town.”  Their 
united  effort  was  to  elect  Mr.  Patterson  as  Mayor.  And 
a good  one  he  proved ; and  he  has  gone  on  and  on,  in  the 
minds  as  well  as  in  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-citizens,  until 
now  he  is  the  colleague  of  Senator  Teller,  and  he  offers 
another  typical  illustration  of  true  American  integrity 
and  honorable  ambition  and  success.  Personally,  Senator 
Patterson  is  one  of  the  most  winning  men  in  the  world, 
and  one  delights  in  his  success  and  the  high  estimation 
in  which  he  is  held. 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL  33 


The  development  of  Colorado  and  other  parts  of  the 
great  Southwest  during  the  past  half-century  has  created 
a new  order  of  employment  in  that  of  the  government 
expert,  — the  specialist  in  upland  or  hydraulic  irrigation, 
in  engineering  and  mining  problems.  The  government 
surveying  work  has  also  increased  largely,  both  in  extent 
and  in  the  greater  number  of  specialties  now  required. 
The  Geological  Survey  and  the  Agricultural  Department, 
both  included  under  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  are 
rapidly  multiplying  branches  of  work  that  require  both  the 
skilled  training  and  ability  for  original  research  and  accom- 
plishment. These  positions,  which  command  government 
salaries  at  from  some  eighteen  to  twenty-five  hundred 
dollars  a year,  afford  such  opportunity  for  the  expert  to 
reveal  his  value  that  private  corporations  and  business 
houses  continually  draw  on  the  ranks  of  the  government 
employees.  Of  late  years  the  demand  for  the  expert  irriga- 
tion engineer  has  been  so  great  in  Colorado  as  to  seriously 
embarrass  the  government  forces  by  drawing  some  of  the 
best  men  for  private  service.  Denver  is  an  especial  centre 
for  these  enterprises,  as  being  the  natural  metropolis 
for  the  vast  inter-mountain  region  and  the  plains  coun- 
try of  the  Missouri  River.  This  vast  territory  will 
support  many  millions  more  of  population.  In  fact, 
the  dwellers  within  this  described  territory  at  this  day 
are  but  pioneers  on  the  frontier  to  what  the  future 
will  develop,  although  they^already  enjoy  all  the  bene- 

3 


34  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


fits  of  the  older  states,  with  countless  advantages  beside 
which  they  cannot  enjoy. 

The  smelteries  in  Denver,  of  which  the  Grant  is  the 
largest,  treat  millions  of  pounds  of  copper  and  lead,  and 
great  quantities  of  silver  and  gold,  while  there  are  also 
extensive  ones  in  Pueblo,  Leadville,  Durango,  and  other 
places.  There  is  also  a good  proportion  of  Colorado  ore 
which  is  not  treated  at  all  at  smelteries,  but  is  of  a free- 
milling  order.  The  revenue  from  mining  has  exceeded 
fifty  millions  of  dollars  annually  of  late  years,  but  the 
revenue  from  agriculture  exceeds  that  of  the  mines,  and  to 
these  must  be  added  some  twenty  millions  a year  from  live 
stock  during  the  past  two  or  three  years.  In  the  aggre- 
gate, Colorado  has  an  internal  revenue  of  hardly  less  than 
one  hundred  millions  a year,  and  this  largely  passes  through 
Denver  as  the  distributing  point,  constituting  the  Capital 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  of  young  cities.  Denver  stands 
alone  in  a rich  region.  One  thousand  miles  from  Chicago, 
six  hundred  miles  from  Kansas  City,  and  four  hundred 
miles  from  Salt  Lake  City,  Denver  holds  its  place  without 
any  rival. 

The  ideal  conditions  of  living  have  never  been  entirely 
combined  in  any  one  locality  on  this  sublunary  planet,  so. 
far  as  human  history  reveals ; and  with  all  the  scenic 
charm,  the  rich  and  varied  resources,  and  the  phenomenal 
development  of  Colorado,  no  one  could  truthfully  describe 
it  as  Utopia.  There  is  no  royal  road  to  high  achievement 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL 


35 


in  any  line.  Difficulties  and  obstacles  are  “ a part  of  the 
play,”  and  he  alone  is  wise  who,  by  his  own  determina- 
tion, faith,  and  persistence  of  energy,  transforms  his  very 
obstacles  into  stepping-stones  and  thus  gains  the  strength 
of  that  which  he  overcomes. 

Northern  Colorado  has  great  resources  even  beyond  the 
coal  fields  that  will  make  it  the  power  centre ; with  its 
prestige  of  Denver,  and  such  surrounding  towns  as  Gree- 
ley, Boulder,  Fort  Collins,  Golden,  and  others,  all  of  which 
fall  within  a group  of  social  and  commercial  centres  that 
will  soon  be  interconnected  by  a network  of  electric  trolley 
lines.  For  the  electric  road  between  Greeley  and  Denver 
Mr.  J.  D.  Houseman  has  secured  a right  of  way  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  wide,  the  rails  being  midway  between 
the  Union  Pacific  and  the  Burlington  lines.  Mr.  House- 
man is  one  of  the  noted  financiers  of  the  East  who  came 
to  Denver  to  incorporate  and  build  this  road,  and  his  is 
only  one  of  three  companies  that  are  now  in  consultation 
with  the  power  company  negotiating  for  the  supplies  which 
will  enable  them  to  build  the  proposed  new  roads. 

The  Seeman  Tunnel,  which  is  to  be  constructed  near 
Idaho  Springs,  at  a distance  of  fifty  miles  from  Denver, 
and  which  is  to  be  twelve  miles  in  length,  although  at 
an  elevation  of  eighty-five  hundred  feet,  is  yet  to  extend 
under  Fall  River  and  the  Yankee,  Alice,  and  the  Lombard 
mining  districts.  It  will  be  one  of  the  marvels  of  the 
state,  and  will  penetrate  a thousand  mining  veins.  The 


36  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Continental  Mines,  Power  and  Reduction  Company,  re- 
cently incorporated  with  a capital  of  three  millions,  of 
which  Captain  Seeman  is  the  president,  owns  many  of  the 
mining  veins  which  will  be  touched  by  this  tunnel.  Many 
of  the  veins  to  which  this  tunnel  will  afford  approach  have 
not  been  accessible  heretofore  for  more  than  four  or  five 
months  in  the  year.  For  the  remaining  six  or  seven 
months  travel  is  practically  impossible  in  these  mountains ; 
the  “claims”  cannot  be  reached,  as  they  lie  in  the  region 
of  perpetual  snow.  When  the  Seeman  Tunnel  is  completed 
the  owner  of  any  claim  that  is  tapped  by  it  can,  by  paying 
a certain  royalty  per  ton  for  each  ton  of  ore  mined,  obtain 
the  right  to  work  it  in  the  tunnel,  thus  being  able  to  pro- 
ceed through  the  entire  year  and  at  a far  less  cost  in 
production  than  at  present.  Regarding  this  gigantic  en- 
terprise, Captain  Seeman  said,  in  June  of  1906,  that  the 
work  would  be  pushed  as  rapidly  as  men,  money,  and 
machinery  could  advance  it,  and,  he  added : “ I consider 
it  one  of  the  greatest  tunnels  ever  attempted,  and  one 
that  will  hold  the  record  for  mining  tunnels.  I ain 
confident  that  we  will  strike  enough  ore  within  the  first 
two  or  three  miles  to  keep  us  busy  for  years.”  The 
Leviathan  is  one  of  the  first  veins  that  the  tunnel  is 
expected  to  tap,  — a vein  three  hundred  feet  wide  on  the 
surface,  — and  while  already  traced  for  more  than  three 
miles,  it  holds  every  promise  for  as  yet  uncalculated 
extension.  The  Lombard  is  another  vein  of  leading  im- 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL  37 


portance  which  promises  to  be  a bonanza.  Gold  is  the 
principal  mineral  that  appears  in  these  veins,  although 
silver,  lead,  and  copper  are  found.  Another  ore,  tung- 
sten, used  for  hardening  in  armor  plates,  large  guns, 
and  the  best  mechanical  implements,  — an  ore  valued  at 
six  hundred  dollars  per  ton,  — has  been  discovered  in 
these  veins.  The  Seeman  Tunnel  is  located  directly  under 
James’s  Peak. 

Another  of  the  remarkable  engineering  marvels  that 
mark  the  progress  of  Colorado  is  the  Moffat  road,  the 
new  railroad  between  Denver  and  Salt  Lake  City,  now 
open  as  far  as  Kremling,  which  initiated  its  passenger 
service  in  the  late  June  of  1906  with  daily  excursions,  in 
solid  vestibuled  trains,  making  the  round  trip  between 
Denver  and  Tolland,  Corona  (the  region  of  perpetual  snow) 
and  Arrow,  on  the  Pacific  slope  of  the  Continental  Divide, 
in  one  day.  This  vast  enterprise  is  due  to  the  genius  and 
the  prophetic  vision  of  President  David  H.  Moffat  of  the 
First  National  Bank  in  Denver,  one  of  the  leaders  in  all 
that  makes  for  the  best  interests  and  the  advancement  of 
the  Centennial  State,  and  of  the  future  of  Denver  the 
Beautiful.  Mr.  Moffat  says  : 

Denver’s  population  is  growing  steadily  and  naturally. 
Some  time  ago  I made  the  prediction  that  Denver  would  have 
three  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  within  five  years.  1 see 
no  reason  for  changing  my  estimate.  Rather,  I might  in- 
crease it,  but  I will  be  conservative. 


38  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

" The  things  that  build  up  a city’s  wealth  and  population 
are  ’round  about  Denver  in  prodigal  quantities.  If  Denver 
had  only  the  state  of  Colorado  from  which  to  draw,  her  future 
would  be  absolutely  assured.  But  consider  the  vast  territory 
that  is  tributary  to  this  city.  It  stretches  away  to  the  east, 
west,  north,  and  south,  an  area  quite  one-third  of  the  whole 
country,  and  quite  the  richest  in  all  natural  resources.  Denver 
is  the  geographical  hub  of  this  territory.” 

The  Moffat  road  will  climb  the  ramparts  formed  by  the 
main  range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  west  of  Denver  and 
run  directly  westward,  passing  through  one  of  the  most 
fertile  sections  of  the  state.  The  road  ascends  to  an 
altitude  of  eleven  thousand  six  hundred  feet,  running 
through  a region  rich  in  minerals,  and  especially  in  coal. 
The  sublime  scenery  along  the  route  has  already  made  it 
most  popular  for  excursions,  which  draw  a vast  tourist 
travel  continually.  President  Moffat’s  road  has  brought 
Routt  County  into  such  prominence  that  investors 
from  the  East  are  being  attracted  to  this  region,  a 
notable  one  among  these  being  the  Eastern  capitalist, 
C.  B.  Knox,  who  proposes  to  invest  in  copper,  coal, 
and  iron  in  Routt  County,  which  he  regards  as  the 
richest  section  in  Colorado.  Mr.  Knox  engaged  the 
services  of  several  experts  to  examine  and  report  to  him 
upon  this  region.  To  a press  correspondent  who  in- 
quired of  Mr.  Knox  his  views  regarding  Colorado, 
he  said : 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL  39 


believe  that  there  is  wealth  unmeasured  in  Routt 
County,  and  I am  out  here  to  put  some  money  in  there. 
I am  sure  that  this  section  of  the  state  is  one  of  the  richest 
territories  in  the  country.  How  I became  interested  is  a long 
story,  — too  long  to  tell.  But  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  I have 
heard  of  Routt  County  for  so  long,  and  from  so  many  different 
people  in  whose  judgment  I have  the  utmost  faith,  that  I have 
come  out  here  to  invest  some  money.  I believe  thoroughly 
that  money  put  into  Routt  County  will  within  a few  years 
bring  handsome  returns.  If  I did  not  believe  that  I should 
not  be  here  looking  for  a place  in  which  to  invest  money. 

I have  been  to  Steamboat  Springs  myself,  and  I am  thor- 
oughly of  the  opinion  that  it  is  going  to  be  one  of  the  big 
towns  of  your  state.  The  fact  is,  I have  never  seen  a better 
looking  proposition  in  my  life  than  investing  money  in  Routt 
County.  Already  I have  purchased  some  land,  and  I am  going 
to  get  more.  It  is  this  iron  proposition  that  I am  having 
investigated  the  most  completely.  The  iron  to  be  found  in 
Routt  County  looks  awfully  good  to  me,  and  there  is  no 
question  in  my  mind  that  Routt  County  is  the  place  to  put 
capital. 

I cannot,  of  course,  at  this  time  say  just  what  properties 
I have  in  view,  — that  would  not  be  good  business  ; but  I have 
under  investigation  locations  of  mineral  property  near  Steam- 
boat and  north  and  south  of  there.  I have  decided  on  noth- 
ing definite ; that  is,  as  to  just  what  ores  I will  endeavor  to 
exploit,  for  the  whole  proposition  looks  so  good  to  me  that  I 
am  going  to  purchase  probably  several  different  kinds  of 


40  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


propositions.  As  I say,  though,  I am  most  interested  in  the 
iron  ore,  as  that  seems  to  present  the  greatest  opportunities.” 

These  views  are  significant  not  only  as  those  of  an 
experienced  financier  who  has  unbounded  faith  in  the 
future  of  Colorado,  but  also  as  typical  of  the  wide  range 
of  vision  which  is  open  to  the  trained  eye  of  the  capitalist 
and  the  organizer  of  great  enterprises.  The  spellbinder 
may  work  his  will  in  Colorado.  It  is  the  land  of  infinite 
opportunity.  It  offers  resources  totally  unsurpassed  in  the 
entire  world  for  unlimited  development,  and  these  resources 
await  the  recognition  of  those  whose  vision  is  sufficiently 
true  to  discern  the  psychological  moment. 

The  first  railroad  reached  Denver  thirty-six  years  ago, 
and  the  city  has  now  sixteen  railroad  lines.  It  has  a 
population  of  over  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand. 
It  is  a geographical  centre,  which  assures  its  permanent 
importance  as  a distributing  point.  With  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  miles  of  street  railway,  with  seventy-five 
miles  of  paved  streets,  and  a taxable  property  estimated 
at  one  hundred  and  two  and  a third  millions,  Denver 
holds  unquestionable  commercial  importance. 

When,  on  the  evening  of  July  Fourth,  1906,  the  splendid 
electric  flag,  with  the  national  colors  intensified  a thousand 
fold  in  brilliancy  by  the  electrical  lights,  floated  in  the 
air  from  the  dome  of  the  Capitol  on  its  commanding 
eminence,  and  the  new  city  Arch,  a veritable  Arc  de  Tri~ 
omphe^  flashed  its  Welcome  in  electrical  light  to  eager 


41 


r 

DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL 

throngs,  the  moment  was  one  which  might  well  have  been 
fixed  on  the  sensitive  plate  of  the  camera  of  the  future  as 
typical  of  the  entire  horoscope  of  Denver  the  Beautiful. 
On  that  day  had  been  unveiled  this  triumphal  arch, 
placed  at  the  Seventeenth  Street  entrance  to  the  city 
from  the  Union  Depot,  which,  in  its  sixteen  hundred 
electric  lights,  flashes  its  legend  upon  the  vision  of  eveiy 
one  entering  Denver.  This  arch,  weighing  seventy  tons, 
eighty  feet  in  length,  and  with  a central  height  of  fifty- 
nine  feet,  is  constructed  from  a combination  of  metals 
so  united  as  to  give  the  best  results  in  strength,  dura- 
bility, and  beauty,  and  thus  to  stand  as  a symbol  of  the 
composite  life  of  the  nation.  Over  the  entire  surface  has 
been  placed  a plating  of  bronze  finished  with  verde  an- 
tique^ to  thus  give  it  the  aspect  of  ancient  bronze.  It  is 
built  at  a cost  of  twenty-two  thousand  dollars,  and  the 
originator  of  the  idea,  Mr.  William  Maher  of  Denver,  re- 
ceived the  entire  subscriptions  for  it  within  one  day.  The 
design  is  that  of  a Denver  girl.  Miss  Marie  Woodson, 
whose  name  must  always  be  immortalized  in  connection 
with  this  beautiful  achievement  which  typifies  the  spirit 
of  the  city.  Constructed  by  one  of  the  city  manufacto- 
ries, the  design  and  the  execution  are  thus  exclusively 
of  Denver.  In  his  address  at  the  unveiling  of  the  arch. 
Chancellor  Buchtel  said : 

‘‘  To  all  men  who  stand  for  honesty,  for  industry,  for  jus- 
tice, for  reverence  for  law,  for  reverence  for  life,  for  education. 


42  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


for  self-reliance^  for  individual  initiative,  for  independence,  and 
for  sound  character,  the  city  of  Denver  speaks  only  one  word, 
and  the  state  of  Colorado  speaks  only  one  word,  and  that 
word  we  have  emblazoned  on  this  glorious  Arch,  — the  word 
^ Welcome.’  ” 

Dean  Hart,  offering  the  Invocation,  referred  to  the 
scriptural  fact  that  God  had  instructed  his  leaders  to 
build  monuments  that  they  might  bear  witness  to  some 
act  or  covenant,  and  it  was  right  that  the  people  of 
Denver  should  raise  this  similar  monument  to  their 
ideals  of  peace  and  happiness  and  truth  and  justice. 
Mayor  Speer,  accepting  the  gift  on  behalf  of  the  city, 
emphasized  the  fact  that  the  arch  was  to  stand  in  its 
place  for  ages  as  the  expression  of  the  attitude  of  the 
citizens  to  the  strangers  who  enter  their  gates.  “ It  is 
intended  to  reflect  our  hospitality,"’’  said  Mayor  Speer, 
“on  a travellers  arrival  and  on  his  departure.  It  is  more 
than  a thing  of  beauty  ; it  is  the  type  of  the  new  spirit 
in  Denver,  an  awakening  of  civic  pride  that  is  sure  to  be 
followed  by  much  that  is  artistic  and  beautiful  in  our 
beloved  city.’” 

The  spirit  of  Denver  the  Beautiful  is  finely  interpreted 
in  these  words  by  representative  citizens.  It  is  the  spirit 
of  generous  and  cordial  hospitality  to  all  who  are  pre- 
pared to  enter  into  and  to  contribute  to  its  high  stand- 
ards of  life.  It  is  the  spirit  of  continually  forging  ahead 
to  accomplish  things ; of  that  iiTesistible  energy,  com- 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL  43 


bined  with  the  eternal  vigilance,  which  is  not  only  the 
price  of  liberty,  but  the  price  of  almost  everything  worth 
having.  With  this  zeal  for  the  great  achievements,  — 
carrying  railroads  through  the  mountains,  opening  the 
inexhaustible  treasures  of  mines,  bringing  the  snow  of 
mountain  peaks  to  irrigate  the  arid  plains,  establishing 
electric  transit  for  fifty  miles  about,  and  telephonic  con- 
nection that  brings  an  area  of  hundreds  of  miles  into 
instant  speaking  range  with  Denver,  — with  all  the  zeal 
for  these  executive  accomplishments,  the  spirit  of  Denvdr 
is  focussed  on  that  social  progress  which  is  aided  and 
fostered  by  all  modern  mechanical  facilities.  Education, 
culture,  and  religion  are  nowhere  more  held  as  the  essen- 
tials of  social  progress  than  in  Denver.  Something  of  the 
nature  of  the  problems  of  civilization  that  confronted 
the  early  pathfinders  in  Colorado  may  be  inferred  from 
the  words  of  Major  Long,  — whose  name  is  now  perpet- 
uated by  the  mountain  peak  that  bears  it,  — when,  in 
1862,  he  stated,  in  an  official  report  to  the  government : 

This  region,  according  to  the  best  intelligence  that  can 
be  had,  is  thoroughly  uninhabitable  by  a people  depending  on 
agriculture  for  their  subsistence,  but,  viewed  as  a frontier, 
may  prove  of  infinite  importance  to  the  United  States,  inas- 
much as  it  is  calculated  to  serve  as  a barrier  to  prevent  too 
great  an  extension  of  our  population  westward  and  secure  us 
against  the  machinations  or  incursions  of  an  enemy  that 
might  otherwise  be  disposed  to  annoy  us  in  that  quarter.” 


44  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Less  than  sixty-five  years  have  passed  since  the  region 
of  which  Denver  is  the  great  centre  was  thus  pronounced 
useless  except  as  a frontier  to  serve  as  protection  from  an 
enemy,  and  this  judgment  reminds  one  of  a keen  insight 
into  the  evolutionary  progress  of  life  expressed  by  Mrs. 
Julia  Ward  Howe  when  she  remarked  that  “ Every  gene- 
ration makes  a fool  of  the  one  that  went  before  it.” 
Colorado,  pronounced  “thoroughly  uninhabitable”  in 
1842,  was  organized  as  a tenitory  in  1861  and  in  1876 
admitted  as  a state.  ^ 

Darwin,  who  regarded  “ climate  and  the  affections  ” as 
the  only  absolute  necessities  of  terrestrial  existence, 
should  have  lived  in  Denver,  for  of  all  the  beautiful  cli- 
mates is  that  in  which  revels  the  capital  of  Colorado.  The 
air  is  all  liquid  gold  from  sunrise  till  sunset ; the  moun- 
tains swim  in  a sea  of  azure  blue  ; the  ground  is  bare  and 
dry  in  winter,  affording  the  best  of  walking,  and  there  are 
few  cities  where  the  general  municipal  management  exceeds 
or  is,  perhaps,  even  as  good  as  that  of  Denver.  The 
electric  street-car  service  is  on  schedule  time,  and  the  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  of  its  extent  already,  with 
increase  in  the  near  future,  is  certainly  an  achievement 
for  a young  city.  Nature  is  a potent  factor  in  this  excel- 
lent service,  as  there  is  no  blocking  by  heavy  snowstorms 
and  blizzards,  as  in  the  Middle  W est  and  the  East. 

The  gazer  in  the  magic  mirror  of  the  future  requires 
little  aid  from  the  imagination  to  see,  in  the  growth  and 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL 


45 


development  of  Denver,  an  impressive  illustration  of  the 
significance  of  the  name  of  the  state  of  which  it  is  the 
capital  and  the  keynote.  With  what  felicitous  destiny  is 
the  name  invested  in  the  old  Castilian  phrase,  “ A Dios 
con  le  Colorado  ( Go  thou  merrily  with  God),  — a parting 
salutation  and  benediction.  Denver  is,  indeed,  more  than 
a state  capital ; it  is  the  epitome  of  the  great  onward 
march  of  civilization,  and  it  must  always  be  considered 
in  its  wide  relations  to  all  the  great  Southwest  as  well  as  in 
respect  to  its  own  municipal  individuality. 

No  citizen  of  Denver  has  contributed  more  to  the 
moral  and  intellectual  quality  of  the  city  as  one  of 
the  conductors  of  great  enterprises  held  amenable  to  the 
higher  ideals  of  citizenship,  than  has  Mr.  S.  K.  Hooper  of 
the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande,  which  is  one  of  the  mar- 
vels of  the  West  in  scenic  glory.  From  May  till  October 
pleasure  tourists  throng  this  marvellous  route  through  the 
Royal  Gorge,  through  mysterious  canons  and  across  the 
Divide.  For  it  must  always  be  remembered  that  Denver 
is  a great  city  for  tourists  and  season  visitors,  and  the 
floating  population  exceeds  a hundred  thousand  annually. 
Beautiful  as  it  is  in  the  winter,  Denver  is  also  essentially  a 
summer  city.  There  is  not  a night  in  the  summer  when 
the  wind,  cool,  refreshing,  exhilarating,  does  not  blow  from 
the  great  rampart  of  the  snow-clad,  encircling  mountains. 
There  is  not  a morning  when  the  wind  does  not  come 
again,  sending  the  blood  leaping  through  the  veins,  while 


46  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


the  sun  rides  across  the  heavens  in  a glory  of  brilliancy, 
and  the  great  range  rears  its  white  head  to  the  cloudless 
blue  sky. 

The  Denver  Art  League  is  a flourishing  association  that 
has  under  its  auspices  classes  in  drawing,  water  colors, 
and  sculpture.  Already  many  artists  of  Colorado  are 
winning  a name.  A new  Public  Library  is  now  in  process 
of  erection,  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  also  maintains 
a free  library  of  some  twenty-five  thousand  volumes, 
the  reading-room  open  every  day  in  the  year.  The 
city  appropriates  six  thousand  dollars  a year  for  the 
expenses  of  this  institution. 

The  educational  standards  of  Denver  are  high.  Draw- 
ing, music,  and  German  are  included  among  the  studies 
of  the  grammar  schools,  and  physical  culture  is  introduced 
in  each  grade.  The  high  school  building  cost  a quarter  of 
a million  dollars,  and  stands  second  in  the  entire  country 
in  point  of  architectural  beauty  and  admirable  arrange- 
ments. Besides  the  splendid  public-school  system  there  is 
the  University  of  Denver,  a few  miles  from  the  city ; St. 
Mary’s  (Catholic)  Academy,  and  two  large  (Episcopal) 
schools  for  girls  and  boys,  respectively,  — “Wolfe  Hall” 
and  St.  John’s  College.  The  Woman’s  College  and  West- 
minster University  complete  this  large  group  of  edu- 
cational institutions  which  centre  in  Denver.  There  is 
also  the  University  of  Colorado  at  Boulder,  which  has 
established  a record  for  success  under  the  able  admin- 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL  47 


istration  of  Dr.  James  H.  Baker,  who,  in  January  of 
1892,  was  called  to  the  presidency  after  having  served 
as  principal  of  the  Denver  High  School  for  seventeen 
years.  President  Baker  is  well  known  in  educational 
circles  in  the  United  States  as  a scholarly  man  and  a 
capable  college  president.  He  has  been  offered  the  presi- 
dency of  other  State  universities  from  time  to  time,  but 
has  preferred  to  remain  in  Boulder  and  to  concentrate  his 
efforts  toward  making  this  institution  one  of  the  largest 
and  best  of  the  state  universities.  He  has  always  been 
active  in  the  State  Teachers’  Association  and  the  National 
Council  of  Education. 

For  three  years  past  the  University  of  Colorado  has 
held  a summer  school  with  a large  attendance  of  teachers 
and  college  students.  In  this  past  season  of  1906,  Pro- 
fessor Paul  Hanus  of  Harvard  University  gave  a valuable 
course  of  lectures  on  education,  and  Professor  Hart,  also 
of  Harvard,  conducted  a course  in  history. 

Over  a hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  pupils  are  enrolled 
in  the  public  schools  of  Denver,  including  all  grades,  from 
the  primary  to  the  high  school.  The  latter  offers  the  full 
equivalent  of  a college  education  freely  to  all. 

The  churches  of  Denver  are  numerous,  and  include 
many  fine  edifices  besides  the  large  granite  Methodist 
Church  that  cost  over  a quarter  of  a million  dollars. 
It  is  not,  however,  only  the  church  structures  that  are 
noble  and  impressive,  but  the  preaching  in  them  is  of 


48  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


an  unusually  high  order  of  both  intellectual  power  and 
spiritual  aspiration.  The  keen,  critical  life  of  Colorado’s 
capital  demands  the  best  thought  of  the  day.  The 
wonderful  exhilaration  of  the  atmosphere  seems  to  exert 
its  influence  on  all  life  as  a universal  inspiration. 

The  new  building  for  the  Denver  Public  Library  is 
under  process  of  construction,  an  appropriation  of  a 
quarter  of  a million  dollars  having  been  made  for  the 
edifice,  which  will  stand  in  a small  triangular  park,  in- 
suring air  and  light,  and  giving  to  its  approach  a stately 
and  beautiful  dignity. 

The  Colorado  capital  is  tending  to  fulfil  the  poet’s 
ideal  of  affording 

“ room  in  the  streets  for  the  soul.” 

The  life  is  most  delightful.  Without  any  undue  and 
commonplace  formalities,  yet  always  within  that  fine 
etiquette  which  is  the  unconscious  result  of  good  breeding, 
the  meeting  and  mingling  has  a cordial  and  sincere  basis 
that  lends  significance  to  social  life.  The  numerous  clubs, 
and  the  associations  for  art  and  music,  for  Italian,  French, 
and  German  readings,  are  all  vital  and  prominent  in  the 
city,  and  the  political  equality  of  woman  imparts  to 
conversation  a tone  of  wider  thought  and  higher  im- 
portance than  is  elsewhere  invariably  found. 

Denver,  which  should  be  the  capital  city  of  the 
United  States,  is  pre-eminently  the  convention  city. 


DENVER  THE  BEAUTIFUL  49 


Even  with  all  the  beauty  of  Washington  and  the  vast 
sums  that  have  been  expended  within  the  past  fifteen 
years  in  the  incomparable  structure  for  the  Library  of  Con- 
gress, and  in  other  fine  public  buildings,  and  the  splendor 
of  the  private  residence  region, — even  with  all  this,  and 
the  fact  that  the  Capitol  itself  is  one  of  the  notable 
architectural  creations  of  the  world,  the  nation  is  great 
enough  and  rich  enough  to  found  a new  capital  which 
should  far  surpass  the  present  one,  however  fine  that 
present  one  may  However  great  are  the  treasures 

of  art  and  architecture  in  Washington,  the  change  could 
be,  even  now,  made  with  the  greatest  advantage  for  the 
future.  Within  a quarter  of  a century  all  that  invests 
AVashington  with  such  charm  in  architectural  beauty 
and  in  art  could  be  more  than  duplicated  in  Denver. 
The  nation  has  wealth  enough,  and  the  most  modern 
ideas  and  inspirations  in  these  lines  surpass  those  of  any 
previous  age  or  decade.  The  present  is  “•  the  heir  of  all 
the  ages.” 

No  one  need  marvel  that  Denver  ranks  as  the  west- 
ern metropolis  of  the  Union,  with  its  delightful  climate, 
its  infinite  inter.ests,  its  centre  as  a point  for  charming 
excursions,  and  its  sixteen  railroad  lines. 

In  this  atmosphere  of  opportunity  and  privilege  there 
is,  indeed,  “ room  for  the  soul  ” and  all  that  the  poet’s 
phrase  suggests.  There  is  room  for  all  noble  and  gener- 
ous development ; for  the  expansion  of  the  spirit  to  ex- 

4 


50  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


press  itself  in  all  loveliness  of  life,  all  splendid  energy 
of  achievement ; and  in  all  that  makes  for  the  supreme 
aim  of  a nation,  — that  of  a Christian  civilization,  — 
no  city  can  offer  greater  scope  than  does  Denver  the 
Beautiful, 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  51 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  PICTURESQUE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK 

And  ever  the  spell  of  beauty  came 
And  turned  the  drowsy  world  to  fiame.’’^ 

Emerson 

In  the  picturesque  region  of  Pike’s  Peak  there  is  grouped 
such  an  array  of  scenic  wonders  as  are  unrivalled,  within 
the  limits  of  any  corresponding  area,  in  the  entire  world. 
To  this  region  Colorado  Springs  is  the  gateway,  and  the 
poetic  little  city  is  already  famous  as  one  of  the  world 
resorts  whose  charm  is  not  exclusively  restricted  to  the 
summer.  The  winter  is  also  alluring,  for  Colorado  is  the 
land  of  perpetual  sunshine.  One  turns  off  the  steam  heat 
and  sits  with  open  windows  in  December.  The  air  is 
dectric,  exhilarating.  The  cogwheel  road  up  Pike’s  Peak 
is  stopped ; but  almost  any  of  the  other  excursions  one 
can  take  as  enjoyably  as  in  summer.  The  East  is,  ap- 
parently, under  the  delusion  that  the  land  is  covered 
with  snow  up  to  the  very  summit  of  Pike’s  Peak.  On 
the  contrary,  the  ground  is  bare  and  dry ; the  birds  are 
singing,  the  sun  shines  for  all,  and  the  everlasting  hills 
silhouette  themselves  against  the  blue  sky  in  all  their 


52  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


grandeur.  One  easily  slips  into  all  the  charm  and  fascina- 
tion of  Colorado  days  through  these  resplendent  winters, 
when  there  are  two  hours  more  of  light  and  sunshine 
in  Colorado,  on  account  of  its  altitude,  than  in  any 
state  to  the  eastward.  The  climate  of  Colorado  Springs 
has  a perfection  that  is  remarked  even  in  the  Centennial 
State,  where,  in  every  part,  the  climate  is  unsurpassed  in 
sunshine  and  exhilaration.  Especially,  however,  is  Colo- 
rado Springs  a summer  resort,  as  is  Saratoga  or  Newport 
or  Bar  Harbor.  Its  season  is  increasingly  brilliant  and 
crowded.  People  come  to  stay  a day  and  prolong  it  to  a 
week,  or  come  for  a week  and  prolong  their  stay  to  a 
month.  The  driving  is  fine,  the  motor  cars  are  abundant, 
the  excursions  are  delightful,  and  the  air  is  as  curative  and 
exhilarating  as  is  possible  to  conceive.  The  inner  glories 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  with  their  vast  canons  and  giant 
peaks ; their  waterfalls  dashing  over  precipices  hundreds 
of  feet  in  height;  the  fascinating  glens  and  mesas  for 
camping  excursions,  or  for  scientific  research  and  study, 
are  all  reached  by  this  gateway  of  Colorado  Springs. 

Pike’s  Peak,  this  stupendous  continental  monument, 
dominates  the  entire  region.  The  atmospheric  effects 
around  its  summit  offer  a perpetual  panorama  of  kaleido- 
scopic changes  of  color  and  cloud-forms.  Looking  out  on 
the  Peak  from  Colorado  Springs,  three  miles  from  its  base, 
there  are  hours  when  it  seems  to  be  actually  approaching 
with  such  swift  though  stately  measure  that  one  involun- 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  53 


tarily  shrinks  back  from  the  window  in  irrational  alarm 
lest  the  gi’im  monster  shall  bear  down  upon  it,  with  a 
force  inevitable  as  Fate ; disastrous  as  a colossal  iceberg 
wandering  from  Polar  seas  and  sweeping  down  with  irre- 
sistible force  against  the  side  of  a transatlantic  liner. 
In  a lightning  flash  of  instantaneous,  unreasoning  vision, 
one  beholds  in  imagination  the  impending  destruction 
of  a city.  It  becomes  a thing  endowed  with  volition ; a 
weird,  uncanny  monster,  the  abode  of  the  gods  who  have 
reared  their  monuments  and  established  their  pleasure- 
grounds  in  their  strange,  fantastic  garden  at  its  foot. 

Again,  the  Peak  enfolds  itself  in  clouds  and,  secure  in 
this  drapery,  retires  altogether  from  sight,  as  if  weary  of 
being  the  object  of  public  view.  It  is  as  if  the  inmates 
of  a house,  feeling  an  invasion  of  public  interest,  should 
turn  off  the  lights,  draw  the  curtains,  and  close  the  shut- 
ters as  a forcible  intimation  of  their  preference  for  pri- 
vacy and  their  decision  to  exclude  the  madding  crowd. 
Sometimes  the  Peak  will  flaunt  itself  in  glorious  apparel 
and  gird  itself  in  strength.  With  light  it  will  deck  itself 
as  with  a garment.  It  surprises  a sunrise  with  the  reflec- 
tion of  glory  transfigured  into  unspeakable  resplendence. 
It  is  the  royal  monarch  to  which  every  inhabitant  of  the 
Pike’s  Peak  region,  every  sojourner  in  the  land,  must  pay 
his  tribute.  The  day  is  fair  or  foul  according  as  Pike’s 
Peak  shall  smile  or  frown.  All  the  cycles  of  the  eternal 
ages  have  left  on  its  summit  their  records, — the  silent  and 


54  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


hidden  romance  of  the  air.  The  scientist  alone  may  trans- 
late this  aerial  hieroglyphic. 

“ Omens  and  signs  that  fill  the  air 
To  him  authentic  witness  bear.” 

This  monumental  peak  of  the  continent  shrouds  in 
oblivion  its  mystic  past,  and  still  the  handwriting  on 
the  wall  may  be  read  by  him  who  holds  the  key  to  all 
this  necromancy.  The  record  of  the  ages  is  written  on 
parchment  that  will  never  crumble.  The  mysteries  of  the 
very  creation  itself,  — of  all  this  vast  and  marvellous 
West,  — of  infinite  expanse  of  sea  and  of  volcanic  fires 
that  swallowed  up  the  waters  and  crystallized  them  into 
granite  and  porphyry,  — this  very  record  of  Titanic  proc- 
esses is  written,  in  mystic  characters,  in  that  far  upper  air 
where  the  lofty  Peak  reigns  in  unapproachable  majesty. 
For  while  there  are  other  peaks  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
as  high, — and  Long’s  Peak  even  exceeds  it  in  altitude,  — 
there  is  no  other  which  rises  so  distinctly  alone  and  which 
so  supremely  dominates  an  infinite  plateau  that  extends, 
like  the  ocean,  beyond  the  limit  of  vision. 

There  is  one  glory  of  the  moon  and  another  glory  of 
the  stars,  as  well  as  the  glory  of  the  sun,  in  this  mountain 
region  of  Colorado  Springs.  The  sunsets  over  the  moun- 
tains are  marked  by  the  most  gorgeous  phenomena  of  color 
before  whose  intensity  all  the  hues  of  a painter’s  palette 
pale.  The  gates  of  the  New  Jerusalem  seem  to  open. 


SUMAUT  OF  I’lKK  S PEAK,  COLOllAUO 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  55 


Great  masses  of  billowy  clouds  in  deepest,  burning  gold 
hang  in  the  air ; the  rainbow  hues  of  all  the  summers  that 
have  shone  upon  earth  since  the  first  rainbow  was  set  in 
the  heavens,  reflect  themselves  in  a thousand  shimmering 
cloud-shapes.  It  is  one  of  the  definite  things  of  the  tour- 
ist’s day  to  watch  from  the  western  terrace  of  “The 
Antlers  ” these  unrivalled  sunset  effects  ; and  when,  later 
(still  in  compliance  with  the  unwritten  laws  that  prevail  in 
the  Empire  of  Transcendent  Beauty),  dinner  is  served  at 
small  tables  on  the  terrace, — where  the  flowers  that  form  the 
centrepiece  of  each  table,  the  gleam  of  exquisite  cut  glass 
and  silver,  and  the  music  from  an  orchestra  hidden  behind 
the  palms  and  tall  roses  that  fling  a thousand  fragrances 
on  the  enchanted  air  all  blend  as  elements  of  the  faery 
scene  whose  background  is  a panoramic  picture  of  moun- 
tains and  sky,  — the  visitor  realizes  an  atmosphere  of  en- 
chantment that  one  might  well  cross  a continent  to  gain. 

Again,  there  is  the  glory  of  the  night.  A young  moon 
glances  shyly  over  the  mountain  summit  and  swiftly  retires 
to  her  mysterious  realms  on  the  other  side.  Each  ensuing 
night  she  ventures  still  further  afield,  gazing  still  longer 
at  the  world  she  is  visiting  before  she  again  wings  her 
flight  down  the  western  sky,  pausing,  for  a tremulous 
moment,  on  the  very  crest  of  the  mountains  ere  she  is  lost 
to  sight  in  the  vague  distance  beyond.  The  stars  come 
and  go  in  impressive  troops  and  processions.  They  float 
up  from  behind  the  mountains  till  one  questions  as  to 


56  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

whether  the  other  side  is  not  a vast  realm  of  star-dust  in 
process  of  crystallizing  into  planets  and  stars.  Has  one, 
then,  at  last  arrived  at  the  Land  that  is  the  forge  of  the 
gods  who  create  it  ? May  one  here  surprise  the  very 
secrets  of  the  Universe.?  Perhaps  some  dim,  mysterious 
under-world  lies  over  that  colossal  range  in  which  celestial 
mechanism  is  at  work  sending  forth  and  withdrawing  the 
shining  planetary  visitants,  so  continuous  is  the  procession 
of  stars  through  all  the  hours  of  the  night.  Each  star,  as  it 
rises  over  the  mountains  or  sets  behind  them,  pauses  for  an 
instant  on  the  crest  for  a preliminary  survey,  or  a parting 
glance,  of  the  world  it  is  entering  or  leaving. 

It  is  still  in  the  realms  of  doubt  as  to  whether  there 
may  be  discovered  a royal  road  to  learning ; but  a royal 
road  to  the  summit  of  Pike’s  Peak,  more  than  fourteen 
thousand  feet  above  sea  level,  has  been,  since  1890,  an 
accomplished  fact  in  the  Manitou  and  Pike’s  Peak  cog- 
wheel road,  starting  from  Engleman’s  Glen,  one  of  the 
famous  resorts  of  Manitou.  This  lovely  town,  that  dreams 
away  its  summer  at  the  base  of  Pike’s  Peak  guarded  by 
precipitous  mountain  walls,  is  connected  with  Colorado 
Springs  by  electric  trolley,  and  the  little  journey  of  four 
miles  is  one  of  the  pleasure  excursions  of  the  region.  The 
route  lies  past  the  Garden  of  the  Gods,”  where  the 
curious  shapes  of  red  sandstone  loom  up  like  spectral 
forms  in  some  Inferno. 

Like  Naples,  Colorado  Springs  is  the  paradise  of  the 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  57 


tourist,  offering  a new  excursion  for  every  day  in  the  sea- 
son ; and  there  are  few  of  these  whose  route  does  not  in- 
clude lovely  Manitou,  which  is  also  the  objective  point 
from  which  to  fare  forth  on  this  journey  above  the  clouds, 
into  those  mysterious  realms  where  he  who  listens  aright 
may  hear  spoken  the  words  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  man 
to  utter.  The  journey  into  aerial  spaces  opens  in  a defile 
of  one  of  the  deep  canons,  the  train  on  the  one  hand 
clinging  to  the  wall,  while  on  the  other  one  looks  down  a 
vast  precipice,  at  the  foot  of  which  dashes  a river  over 
gigantic  boulders.  The  route  is  diversified  by  the  little 
stations  on  the  way,  — Minnehaha,  whose  waterfall  indeed 
laughs  in  the  air,  and  is  given  back  in  a thousand  ghostly 
echoes  ; the  Half-Way  House,  nestling  under  the  pinna- 
cled rocks  of  Hell  Gate  — must  one  always  pass  through 
the  portals  of  Hades  on  his  way  to  Paradise  ? Strange 
and  grotesque  scenery  companions  the  w'ay.  On  the 
mountain-side  one  finds  — of  all  things  — a newspaper 
office,  where  a souvenir  daily  paper  is  issued  with  all  the 
news  of  that  new  world  above  the  clouds.  Pike’s  Peak. 
The  ascent  is  very  steep  in  places.  The  verdure  of  the 
foothills  vanishes,  the  trees  cease  to  invade  this  upper 
air,  and  only  the  dwarfed  aspen  shivers  in  the  breeze  as 
it  clings  to  some  barren  rock.  New  vistas  open.  The 
world  of  day  and  daylight  duties  is  left  behind.  Gaunt, 
spectral  rocks  in  uncanny  shapes  haunt  the  way.  The 
air  grows  chill ; car  windows  are  closed,  and  warm  wraps 


58  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


are  at  a premium.  But  the  scene  below  ! The  sensation 
of  looking  down  on  the  clouds,  the  view  of  Lake  Moraine, 
an  inland  sea  high  in  the  mountains ; the  new  sensations 
of  the  rarefied  air,  — all  these  seem  to  initiate  one  into  a 
new  world.  From  the  summit,  reached  in  a journey  of 
ninety  minutes,  the  view  can  only  be  described  as  that  of 
unspeakable  awe  and  sublimity.  An  expanse  of  sixty 
thousand  miles  is  open  to  the  gaze.  To  the  west  rise 
a thousand  towering  peaks,  snow  clad,  in  a majesty  of 
effect  beyond  power  of  portrayal.  To  the  east  the  vast 
plateaus  stretch  into  infinite  space.  Below,  the  sun  shines 
on  floating  clouds  in  all  gleams  of  color.  In  the  steel 
tower  of  the  new  Summit  Hotel  is  a powerful  telescope 
that  brings  Denver,  eighty  miles  distant,  into  near  and 
distinct  view.  In  Colorado  Springs,  fourteen  miles  “as 
the  crow  flies,”  the  telescopic  view  even  reveals  the  signs 
on  the  streets  so  they  may  be  plainly  read.  In  close 
range  of  vision  appear  Pueblo,  Cripple  Creek,  Victor, 
Goldfield,  Independence,  and  Manitou. 

The  surface  of  the  top  of  Pike’s  Peak  comprises  several 
acres  of  level  land  thickly  strewn  with  large  blocks  of 
rough  granite  of  varying  size,  — blocks  that  are  almost 
wholly  in  a regular  rectangular  shape,  as  if  prepared  for 
some  Titanic  scheme  of  architecture.  The  highest  tele- 
graph office  in  the  world  is  located  here,  and  the  usual 
souvenir  shop  of  every  summer  resort  offers  its  tempting 
remembrances,  all  of  which  are  closely  associated  with  the 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  59 


genus  loci^  and  are  all  a very  part  of  the  Colorado  pro- 
ductions. A powerful  searchlight  was  placed  on  Pike’s 
Peak  during  the  summer  of  1906,  adding  the  most  pic- 
turesque feature  of  night  to  all  the  surrounding  country. 
Denver,  Colorado  Springs,  Pueblo,  the  Cripple  Creek  dis- 
trict, the  deep  canons  of  the  Cheyenne  range,  the  silvery 
expanse  of  Broadmoor,  whose  attractive  casino  is  a centre 
of  evening  gatherings,  — all  these  points  in  the  great  land- 
scape are  swept  with  the  illumination  from  the  highest 
searchlight  in  the  world  to-day. 

A century  has  passed  since  Major  Zebulon  Mont- 
gomery Pike  first  discovered  the  shadowy  crest  of  the 
mountain  peak  that  immortalizes  his  name.  It  was  on 
November  13,  1806,  that  the  attention  of  Major  Pike 
and  his  party  was  arrested  by  what  at  first  looked  to 
them  as  a light  blue  cloud  in  the  sky,  toward  which 
they  marched  for  ten  days  before  arriving  at  the  base 
of  the  mountain.  The  story  of  this  journey  is  one  of  the 
dramatic  records  in  the  national  archives.  Major  Pike 
and  his  men  left  St.  Louis  on  July  15, 1806,  on  his  trip  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  or  Mexican  Mountains  as  he  called 
them  at  the  time.  He  pronounced  the  country  through 
which  he  travelled  to  be  so  devoid  of  sustenance  for 
human  beings  that  it  would  serve  as  a barrier,  for  all 
time,  in  the  expansion  of  the  United  States.  In  vivid 
contrast  are  the  conditions  to-day.  Major  Pike  could  now 
make  his  journey  from  St.  Louis  to  Pike’s  Peak  over 


60  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


either  of  several  grand  trunk  railways  equipped  with  all 
the  modern  luxuries  of  travel.  Where  he  passed  great 
herds  of  buffalo,  he  would  now  see  cattle  grazing  in  equal 
numbers  on  the  prairies.  The  vast  plains  that  paralyzed 
his  imagination  by  their  desolate  aspects  are  now  dotted 
with  prosperous  farms  or  ranches.  The  mountains  that 
appealed  to  him  only  for  their  scenic  grandeur  have  been 
found  to  be  the  treasure  vaults  of  nature  that  were 
only  waiting  to  be  conquered  by  the  hardy  frontiersmen 
who  followed  him  nearly  half  a century  later.  The  great 
white  mountain  that  he  declared  could  not  be  ascended  by 
a human  being  is  now  the  objective  point  of  a hundred 
thousand  tourists  annually,  who  gayly  climb  the  height 
in  a swift  trip  made  in  a luxurious  Pullman  observa- 
tion car.  The  first  attempt  of  the  Pike  party  to 
ascend  the  peak  was  a failure,  and  Major  Pike  expressed 
his  opinion  that  “no  human  being  could  ascend  to  its 
pinnacle.”  In  1819  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun,  then 
Secretary  of  War,  sent  Major  Long  and  a party  on  an 
expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  then  almost  as 
unknown  as  the  Himalayas.  This  exploring  party 
camped  on  the  present  site  of  Colorado  Springs,  and 
on  July  13  (1819)  started  to  ascend  the  peak.  On  the 
first  day  they  made  only  two  miles,  as  the  ground  was 
covered  with  loose,  crumbling  granite.  On  the  second 
day,  however,  they  succeeded ; the  first  ascent  of  Pike’s 
Peak  thus  having  been  made  on  July  14,  1819.  A 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  61 


chronicle  of  this  ascent  describes  the  point  above 
which  the  timber  line  disappears  as  one  “ of  aston- 
ishing beauty  and  of  great  interest  as  to  its  produc- 
tions.” The  first  woman  to  stand  on  the  summit  of 
Pike’s  Peak  was  Mrs.  James  H.  Holmes,  in  August 
of  1858. 

General  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike  achieved  distinction 
both  as  an  explorer  and  a brave  soldier.  He  was  but 
twenty-seven  years  of  age  when  he  was  chosen  to  lead  the 
most  important  military  expedition  of  the  day,  and  eight 
years  later,  as  Brigadier-General,  he  commanded  the 
troops  that  captured  the  British  stronghold  at  York 
(now  Toronto),  Canada,  and  here  he  met  his  death,  which 
has  been  compared  to  that  of  Nelson.  The  captured  flag 
of  the  enemy  was  placed  under  the  head  of  the  dying 
general  to  ease  his  pain.  The  cheers  of  his  soldiers 
aroused  the  young  commander,  and  on  being  told  that 
the  fort  was  captured,  he  closed  his  eyes  with  the  words, 
“ I die  content.” 

In  his  notebook  were  found  the  maxims  that  had  guided 
him  through  life,  dedicated  to  his  son,  among  which  were 
“ Preserve  your  honor  free  from  blemish,”  and  “ Be  always 
ready  to  die  for  your  country.” 

General  Pike  was  buried  with  full  military  honors  in 
the  government  plot  at  Madison  Barracks,  New  York.  A 
modest  shaft  marks  the  resting  place  of  the  heroic  soldier- 
explorer,  and  on  Cascade  Avenue  in  Colorado  Springs, 


62  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


directly  in  front  of  “ The  Antlers,”  there  is  placed  a statue 
of  the  heroic  discoverer  of  the  mighty  Peak  which  forever 
perpetuates  his  name. 

No  adequate  life  of  Pike  has  ever  been  written  ; but 
with  the  monumental  majesty  of  the  mid-continental 
mountain  peak  that  proclaims  his  name  to  all  future 
centuries,  what  room  can  there  be  for  biographical  record 
or  sculptured  memorial?  The  archives  of  the  Department 
of  War,  in  Washington,  contain  his  diary,  kept  from  day 
to  day  in  this  march  from  St.  Louis  to  Colorado.  After 
his  discovery  of  the  Peak,  Major  Pike  returned  to  the  place 
where  now  the  city  of  Pueblo  stands,  continuing  his  jour- 
ney into  the  mountains,  thence  to  New  Mexico,  where  he 
was  captured  by  the  Spaniards.  Hardships  of  every  de- 
scription were  suffered  by  the  party  before  being  placed 
in  captivity  at  Santa  Fe  ; but  even  the  capture  of  his 
papers  by  the  Spaniards  at  Santa  Fe  did  not  serve  to 
destroy  the  records  of  the  astute  young  soldier,  who  had 
carefully  concealed  duplicates  of  his  papers  in  the  barrel  of 
his  big  flintlock  rifle,  and  he  was  afterward  able  to  restore 
them  to  original  form.  Major  Pike  was  as  tender  and 
humane  as  he  was  brave.  In  the  capture  of  the  party  by 
the  Spanish  two  of  the  men  had  to  be  abandoned  and  left 
to  their  fate  in  the  hills.  They  were  given  a small  supply 
of  provisions,  with  the  assurance  that  they  would  be  rescued 
if  the  rest  of  the  party  found  a haven  of  safety  and  rest. 
Major  Pike  kept  this  promise  and,  more  nearly  dead  than 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  63 


alive,  these  men  were  brought  into  Santa  Fe  by  the 
Spanish  soldiers. 

Well  might  it  have  been  of  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike, 
in  his  first  eager  march  toward  this  “blue  cloud”  that 
beckoned  him  on  and  proved  to  be  a vast  mountain  peak, 
— well  might  it  have  been  this  hero  that  Emerson  thus 
pictured  in  the  lines : 

“ The  free  winds  told  him  what  they  knew, 

Discoursed  of  fortune  as  they  blew  ; 

Omens  and  signs  that  filled  the  air 
To  him  authentic  witness  bear  ; 

The  birds  brought  auguries  on  their  wings. 

And  carolled  undeceiving  things 
Him  to  beckon,  him  to  warn  ; 

Well  might  then  the  poet  scorn 
To  learn  of  scribe  or  courier 
Things  writ  in  vaster  character  ; 

And  on  his  mind  at  dawn  of  day 
Soft  shadows  of  the  evening  lay.” 

In  his  diary,  kept  during  the  march  from  St.  Louis, 
Major  Pike  thus  pictured  his  first  impressions  of  Colorado  : 

“The  scene  was  one  of  the  most  sublime  and  beautiful 
inland  prospects  ever  presented  to  man ; the  great  lofty 
mountains,  covered  with  eternal  snow,  seemed  to  surround 
the  luxuriant  vale,  crowned  with  perennial  flowers,  like  a 
terrestrial  paradise.” 

The  memory  of  this  hero  cannot  but  invest  Colorado 
Springs  with  a certain  consecration  of  heroism  that  be- 


64  THE  LAXD  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


comes,  indeed,  part  of  the  “ omens  and  signs  ” that  fill 
the  air. 

In  the  early  autumn  of  1906  Colorado  Spnngs  and 
Manitou  celebrated  the  centenary  of  the  discovery  of 
Pike's  Peak  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  One  of  the 
interesting  features  was  the  rendering  of  an  “ Ode 
by  a chorus  of  one  thousand  voices,  of  which  the 
words  were  written  by  Charles  J.  Pike  of  New  York, 
the  well-known  sculptor,  a great-nephew  of  General 
Pike,  and  for  which  the  music  was  composed  by  Rubin 
Goldmark. 

One  of  the  noted  excui-sions  of  the  Pike's  Peak  region 
is  the  “ Temple  Drive,"  — a carriage  road  beginning  in 
Manitou,  traversing  Williams  Canon,  and,  climbing  its 
west  wall.  The  drive  offei's  near  \fiews  of  the  Temple  of 
Isis,  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  the  Narrows,  and  of  St. 
Peter's  Gate  in  the  Cathedral  Dome.  It  is  fairly  a drive 
in  elfland,  and  is  as  distinctive  a feature  of  Colorado 
Springs  life  as  is  the  famous  drive  from  Naples  to  Amalfi 
and  SoiTento  a feature  of  the  enchantment  of  Southern 
Italy.  Manitou  Park  is  easily  reached  by  motor  or  car- 
riage drive  from  Colorado  Springs  through  the  picturesque 
Ute  Pass,  and  aside  from  its  beauty  it  has  an  added  in- 
terest in  having  been  presented  to  Colorado  College  by 
General  William  J.  Palmer  and  Dr.  William  A.  Bell,  to 
be  used  as  the  field  laboratory  of  the  new  Colorado  School  of 
Forestry.  Manitou  Park  contains  cottages  and  recreation 


I 


WILLIAMS  CANON,  N L A K MAMTOL,  COLOUAOO 


66  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


might  as  well  have  been  translated  to  Mars  so  far  as  utter 
Isolation  can  be  realized.  In  the  dim  green  twilight  from 
the  lofty  wooded  cliffs  toward  the  Seven  Falls  one  enters 
on  “ the  twilight  of  the  gods,”  not  dark,  but  a soft  light, 
the  sun  shut  out,  the  air  vibrating  with  faint  hints  of 
color,  the  colossal  granite  walls  rising  into  the  sky,  the 
faint  dash  of  waterfalls  heard  plashing  over  hidden  rocks 
and  stones ; a rill  here  and  there  trickling  down  the  moun- 
tain side ; the  far  call  of  some  lonely  bird  heard  far  away 
in  the  upper  air ; and  the  soft,  mysterious  light,  the  dim 
coolness  and  fragrance,  the  glimpse  of  blue  sky  just  seen 
in  the  narrow  opening  above  — was  anything  ever  so  en- 
chantingly  poetic?  It  is  here  one  might  well  materialize 
his  castle  d’Espagne.  Winding  up  the  canon,  one  comes 
to  “ Seven  Falls,”  — a torrent  of  water  rushing  down 
mighty  cliffs  on  one  side  of  a colossal  amphitheatre,  and 
the  precipitous  cliffs  show  seven  distinct  terraces  down 
which  the  foaming  torrent  plunges. 

In  North  Cheyenne  and  in  Bear  CreeK  Canons  the 
grandeur  is  repeated,  and  in  those  the  people  find  a 
vast  free  recreation  ground.  This  privilege  is  again  one 
of  the  innumerable  ones  that  are  due  to  the  gifts  and 
grace  of  General  Palmer,  who  has  had  this  sublime  locality 
made  into  a practicable  resort,  with  pavilions  where  tea, 
coffee,  lemonade,  ices,  and  sandwiches  are  served  ; a rustic 
hostelry,  “ Bruin  Inn,”  is  also  provided  as  a place  of  refuge 
and  entertainment,  providing  against  any  disasters  in  the 


SKVEN  FALLS.  CHEYENNE  CANON,  NEAR 
COl.OUADO  Sl'HINGS,  COLOKADO 


■'/I  \- 


'.'■  * ■’^ 


n 


fr. 


'•v 


' 


■ ■ - 


■OT33P3*ra5TO 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  67 


sudden  storms  that  are  so  frequent  in  these  canon  regions ; 
and  the  bridle  paths,  the  terraced  drives  on  the  mountain 
walls,  and  the  glades  where  games  may  be  played,  all 
make  South  Cheyenne  the  most  unique  pleasure  resort 
of  that  of  any  city  in  the  United  States. 

In  all  these  canons  the  massive,  precipitous  granite 
walls,  which  seem  to  rise  almost  to  the  sky,  are  also  ren- 
dered more  arresting  to  the  eye  by  their  richly  variegated 
coloring.  These  ragged  cliffs  rise,  too,  in  pinnacles  and 
towers  and  domes  that  proclaim  their  warfare  with  the 
elements  for  ages  innumerable.  Visitors  familiar  with 
all  the  Alpine  gorges  and  with  the  Yosemite  agree  that 
in  no  one  of  these  ai-e  there  such  majesty  of  effects  as  in 
the  Cheyenne  canons. 

Manitou,  the  Indian  name  for  the  Great  Spirit,  is  an 
alluring  place  in  a nook  of  the  mountains  at  the  foot  of 
Pike’s  Peak,  reminding  one  of  the  Swiss-Alpine  villages. 
Ute  Pass ; Williams  Canon,  in  which  is  the  noted  “ Cave 
of  the  Winds  ” ; the  famous  “ Temple  Drive  ” ; Cascade, 
Green  Mountain  Falls  and  Glen  Eyrie  are  all  grouped 
near  Manitou,  and  it  is  here  that  the  cogwheel  road 
ascending  Pike’s  Peak  begins.  The  Mineral  Springs  are 
approached  in  a pavilion  with  two  or  three  large  rooms ; 
the  auditorium,  where  an  orchestra  plays  every  afternoon, 
seats  some  two  hundred  people,  who  can  listen  to  the 
music,  sip  their  glasses  of  mineral  water,  and  chat  with 
friends,  all  at  one  and  the  same  time.  There  is  a foreign 


68  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

air  about  Manitou.  The  little  town  consists  of  one 
street  extending  along  the  canon,  following  its  curves, 
with  a few  cottages  perched  on  terraces  above,  and  the 
hotels,  boarding-houses,  and  the  little  shops,  with  the 
hawkers  of  curios  at  their  street  stands,  make  up  a pictur- 
esque spectacle.  The  shop  windows  glisten  with  jewelry 
made  from  the  native  Colorado  stones,  the  amethyst,  opal, 
topaz,  emerald,  tourmaline,  and  moonstone  being  found 
more  or  less  extensively  in  this  state.  The  native  ores  are 
exposed  ; Indian  wares,  from  the  bright  Navajo  rugs  and 
blankets  to  the  pottery,  baskets,  and  beaded  work ; photo- 
graphs and  picture  cards  of  all  kinds,  and  trinkets  galore, 
of  almost  every  conceivable  description,  give  a gala-day 
aspect  to  the  little  mountain  town.  The  surrounding 
peaks  rise  to  the  height  of  six  and  eight  thousand  feet 
above  the  street,  which  looks  like  a toy  set  in  a region 
designed  for  the  habitation  of  the  gods.  American  life, 
however,  keeps  the  pace,  and  in  this  mountain  defile  at 
the  foot  of  Pike’s  Peak  were  the  signs  out  announcing  a 
“ Psychic  Palmist,”  a ‘‘  Scientific  Palmist,”  and  a “ Thought 
Healer,”  by  which  it  will  be  inferred  that  an  up-to-date 
civilization  has  by  no  means  failed  to  penetrate  to  Mani- 
tou. Each  year  the  accommodations  for  travellers  multiply 
themselves.  Each  summer  the  demand  increases.  There 
is  a fascination  about  Manitou  that  throws  its  spell  over 
every  visitor  and  sojourner. 

The  Grand  Caverns  are  on  the  side  of  one  of  the  pic- 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  69 


turesque  mountains,  reached  by  a drive  through  the  Ute 
Pass.  Beyond  Rainbow  Falls,  and  entering  the  vestibule 
of  these  caverns,  the  visitor  finds  himself  under  a lofty 
dome  from  which  stalactites  hang,  and  in  which  is  a pile 
of  stones  being  raised  to  the  memory  of  General  Grant, 
each  visitor  adding  one.  No  form  of  memorial  to  the 
great  military  commander,  whose  character  was  at  once 
so  impressive  and  so  simple,  could  be  more  fitting  than  is 
this  tribute.  From  the  vestibule  one  wanders  to  Alabas- 
ter Hall,  where  there  are  groups  of  snow-white  columns 
of  pure  alabaster.  In  a vast  space  sixty  feet  high,  with 
a dome  of  Nature’s  chiselling  and  two  galleries  that  are 
curiously  wrought  by  natural  forces,  there  is  a natural 
grand  organ,  formed  of  stalactites,  with  wonderful  rever- 
berations and  with  a rich,  deep  tremulous  tone.  To  reveal 
its  marvels  to  visitors  a skilled  musician  is  employed,  who 
renders  on  it  popular  selections,  to  the  amazement  of  all 
who  are  present.  Another  feature  of  the  Grand  Caverns 
is  the  “jewel  casket.”  where  gems  encased  in  limestone 
reflect  the  glow  of  a lamp.  There  is  also  the  “card 
room,”  with  its  columns  and  its  pictorial  effects ; the 
“ Lovers’  Lane  ” and  the  “ Bridal  Chamber,”  filled  with 
translucent  formations  in  all  curious  shapes  and  hints  of 
color. 

The  marvellous  achievements  of  the  engineer  in  encir- 
cling the  mountains  with  steel  tracks  on  which  cars  climb 
to  the  summit  are  seen,  in  perhaps  their  most  remarkable 


70  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


degree  of  development  in  conquering  the  problems  of 
mountain  engineering  in  Colorado.  Of  all  these  achieve- 
ments, one  of  the  most  conspicuous  triumphs  is  that 
known  as  the  ‘‘  Short  Line  ” between  Colorado  Springs  and 
Cripple  Creek,  a distance  of  only  forty-five  miles,  and  the 
time  some  two  and  a half  hours ; but  within  these  limits 
is  comprised  the  most  unspeakably  sublime  panorama  of 
mountain  scenery.  As  the  train  begins  to  wind  up  the 
mountains  one  looks  down  on  the  flaming,  rose-red  splen- 
dor of  the  Garden  of  the  Gods,  — with  its  uncanny 
shapes,  its  domes  and  curious  formations.  Climbing  up, 
the  vast  plain  below  — a plain,  even  though  it  is  six 
thousand  feet  above  sea  level  — looks  like  a sea  of  silver. 
The  railroad  crosses  Bear  Creek  Canon  on  a narrow  iron 
bridge  and  threads  its  way  again  on  the  terraced  trunk  of 
the  opposite  mountain  up  to  Point  Sublime, — a gigantic 
rock  towering  on  a mountain  crest.  A landscape  un- 
folds that  rivals  Church’s  wonderful  “ Heart  of  the 
Andes  ” in  its  fascination.  Entering  South  Cheyenne,  the 
beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  eastern  end  of  the  canon  are 
seen  by  following  the  narrow  course  between  its  rugged 
granite  sides  hundreds  of  feet  in  height,  reaching  a 
magnificent  and  most  impressive  climax  at  the  wonder- 
ful Seven  Falls.  No  visit  to  the  Pike’s  Peak  region  can 
be  considered  complete  without  this  trip  through  South 
Cheyenne  Canon. 

The  usual  feature  of  the  situation  as  trains  circle  around 


ST.  Peter’s  dome,  on  the  cripple  creek  short  line 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  71 


the  rim  of  these  canons  is  that  their  beauty  is  seen  from 
above.  A short  stroll  and  one  finds  himself  between  walls 
towering  a thousand  feet  above  his  head.  The  beauty  is 
all  around  and  above.  The  tops  of  the  mountains  seem 
very  far  away,  and  lost  in  clouds.  But  in  the  train  the 
situation  is  reversed  ; for,  seated  in  a luxurious  observa- 
tion car  of  the  “ Short  Line,”  the  tourist  is  carried  above  the 
peaks  and  canon  walls,  which  from  below  seem  inaccessible 
in  their  height,  and  from  this  startling  elevation  one  looks 
down  on  an  underworld  of  strange  and  mysterious  forms. 
St.  Peter’s  Dome,  as  it  is  called,  looks  down  from  its  tower- 
ing height  with  the  national  colors  flying  from  its  summit, 
— a huge  mass  of  granite  that  seems  to  stand  alone  and 
to  guard  the  secrets  of  the  depths  below. 

The  ascent  of  St.  Peter’s  Dome  is  a triumph  of  engi- 
neering skill.  As  the  train  glides  along,  and  glory  suc- 
ceeds to  glory,  vista  to  vista,  and  canon  to  canon,  in  ever 
changing  but  constant  charm,  the  dizzy  height  is  climbed 
apparently  with  so  much  ease  that  the  traveller,  absorbed 
in  the  entrancing  surroundings,  reaches  the  top  before  he 
is  aware  of  it.  It  seems  impossible  that  the  track  seen 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  canon  hundreds  of  feet  above 
should  be  the  path  the  train  is  to  follow  ; but  a few  turns, 
almost  imperceptible,  so  smooth  is  the  roadbed,  and  one 
looks  down  on  the  place  just  passed  with  equal  wonder,  and 
asks  if  that  can  be  the  track  by  which  he  has  come.  As 
the  train  climbs  the  side  or  rounds  the  point  of  each  moun- 


72  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


tain  peak,  the  matchless  view  of  the  plains  is  unfolded 
before  the  enraptured  gaze.  All  description  is  baffled ; 
any  attempt  to  reproduce  in  words  the  glory  of  that  scene 
is  impossible.  Every  tourist  in  the  Pike’s  Peak  region 
regards  the  ‘‘  Short  Line  ” trip  as  the  very  crown  of  the 
summer’s  excursions,  or,  in  the  local  phrase,  one  whose 
sublimity  of  beauty  “bankrupts  the  English  language.” 
These  forty-five  miles  not  only  condense  within  their 
limits  the  grandeur  one  might  reasonably  anticipate  dur- 
ing a transcontinental  journey  of  three  thousand  miles, 
but  as  an  achievement  of  mountain  engineering,  railway 
experts  in  both  Europe  and  America  have  pronounced 
it  the  most  substantially  built  and  the  finest  equipped 
mountain  railroad  in  the  world.  It  was  opened  in  1901, 
and,  quite  irrespective  of  any  interest  felt  in  visiting 
the  gold  camps  of  Cripple  Creek,  the  “Short  Line”  has 
become  the  great  excursion  which  all  visitors  to  Colo- 
rado desire  to  make  for  the  sublime  effects  of  the  scenery. 
A prominent  civil  engineer  in  Colorado  said,  in  answer  to 
some  question  regarding  the  problem  of  taking  trains  over 
mountain  ranges  and  peaks  that,  given  the  point  to  start 
from  and  the  point  to  reach,  and  sufficient  capital,  there 
was  no  difficulty  in  carrying  a railroad  anywhere.  The 
rest  is,  he  said,  only  a question  of  time  and  skill.  The  con- 
struction of  the  “ Short  Line  ” reveals  the  achievement 
of  carrying  a railroad  around  the  rims  of  canons  and  over 
the  tops  *of  mountains  rather  than  that  of  following  a 


APPROACHING  DUFFIELD 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  73 


trail  through  the  bottom  of  the  canons.  As  a scenic 
success  this  feat  is  unparalleled.  The  bewildering  mag- 
nificence, the  incomparable  sublimity,  as  the  train  winds 
up  St.  Peter’s  Dome,  are  beyond  the  power  of  painter  or 
poet  to  picture.  Leaving  Colorado  Springs,  the  tourist 
sees  the  strange  towering  pinnacles  of  the  Garden  of  the 
Gods,  in  their  deep  red  contrasting  with  the  green  back- 
ground of  trees ; Manitou  gleams  from  its  deep  canon  ; 
the  towers  and  spires  of  Colorado  Springs  appear  in 
miniature  from  the  far  height,  and  the  great  expanse  of 
the  plateau  looks  like  the  sea.  It  is  difficult  to  realize 
that  one  is  still  gazing  upon  land.  The  ascent  is  more 
like  the  experience  in  an  aero-car  than  in  a railroad  train, 
so  swift  is  the  upward  journey.  The  first  little  station  on 
this  route  is  Point  Sublime,  where  the  clouds  and  the 
mountain  peaks  meet  and  mingle.  North  Cheyenne  Canon 
is  seen  far  below,  and  in  the  distance  is  fair  Broad- 
moor with  its  Crescent  Lake  gleaming  like  silver.  The 
Silver  Cascade  Falls  sparkle  in  the  air  hundreds  of  feet  up 
the  crags.  At  Fair  View  the  North  and  South  Cheyenne 
Canons  meet,  — those  two  scenic  gorges  whose  fame  is 
world-wide,  — and  from  one  point  the  traveller  gazes  down 
into  each,  the  bottom  depths  so  remote  as  to  be  invisi- 
ble. These  precipices  are  wooded,  so  that  the  aspect 
is  that  of  sheer  walls  of  green.  St.  Peters  Dome 
almost  pierces  the  sky,  and  as  the  train  finally  gains 
the  summit  a vista  of  incomparable  magnificence  opens, 


74  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


— of  canons  and  peaks  and  towering  rocks,  — and  through 
one  canon  is  seen  Pueblo,  over  fifty  miles  distant,  but 
swept  up  in  nearer  vision  with  a mirage-like  effect  in  the 
air.  It  is  a view  that  might  well  enchain  one.  The 
Spanish  Peaks  cut  the  sky  far  away  on  the  horizon,  and 
the  beautiful  range  of  the  Sangre  de  Cristo  Mountains 
offers  a view  of  wonderful  beauty.  The  road  passes  Duf- 
flelds.  Summit,  Rosemont,  and  Cathedral  Park,  at  each 
of  which  stations  a house  or  two,  or  a few  tents,  may  be 
seen,  — the  homes  of  workmen  or  of  summer  dwellers  who 
find  the  most  romantic  and  picturesque  corners  of  the 
universe  none  too  good  in  which  to  set  up  their  house- 
hold gods  for  the  midsummer  days.  Nothing  is  more 
feasible  than  to  live  high  up  in  the  mountains  along  the 
“ Short  Line.”  The  two  trains  a day  bring  the  mails  ; 
all  marketing  and  merchandise  are  easily  procured ; and 
the  air,  the  views,  the  marvellous  spectacle  of  sunrise  and 
sunset,  the  perpetually  changing  panorama,  simply  make 
life  a high  festival.  The  little  station  of  Rosemont  is 
a natural  park,  surrounded  by  three  towering  peaks,  — 
Mount  Rosa,  Big  Chief,  and  San  Luis.  Clyde  is  a 
point  much  frequented  by  picnickers.  The  “ Cathedral 
Park  ” is  an  impressive  example  of  w'hat  the  forces  of 
nature  can  accomplish.  Colossal  rocks,  chiselled  by  ero- 
sion, tw'isted  by  tempests,  worn  by  the  storms  of  innu- 
merable ages,  loom  up  in  all  conceivable  shapes.  They 
are  of  the  same  order  as  some  of  the  w^onderful  groups  of 


PORTLAND  AND  INDLPKNDKNCE  .^11 NES,  VICTOR,  COLORADO 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  75 


rocks  seen  in  the  Grand  Canon.  Towers  and  arches  and 
temples  and  shafts  have  been  created  by  Nature’s  irresist- 
able  forces,  and  to  the  strange  fantastic  form  is  added 
color,  — the  same  rich  and  varied  hues  that  render  the 
Grand  Canon  so  wonderful  in  its  color  effects.  This 
“ Cathedral  Park  ” is  a great  pleasure  resort  for  celebra- 
tions and  picnics,  both  from  Colorado  Springs,  Colorado 
City,  Broadmoor,  and  other  places  from  below,  and  also 
from  Cripple  Creek,  Victor,  and  other  towns  in  Cripple 
Creek  District. 

The  district  of  Cripple  Creek  includes  a number  of 
towns,  — Victor,  Anaconda,  Eclipse,  Santa  Rita,  Gold- 
field, Independence,  and  others,  each  centred  about  famous 
and  productive  mines.  The  first  discovery  of  gold  here 
was  made  in  1891  by  a ranchman,  Mr.  Womack,  who 
took  the  specimens  of  gold  ore  that  he  found  to  some 
scientific  men  in  Colorado  Springs,  who  pronounced  it 
the  genuine  thing,  and  capitalists  became  interested  to 
develop  the  mines.  In  1891,  the  first  year,  the  total 
value  of  the  gold  produced  was  $200,000  ; 1905,  the  four- 
teenth year,  the  value  of  the  production  w’as  $4)7,630,107. 
The  total  value  of  the  gold  produced  in  the  fourteen 
years  of  the  camp’s  existence,  to  December  31,  1905,  was 
$14)1,395,087. 

There  are  about  three  hundred  properties  in  the  camp 
which  produce  with  more  or  less  regularity.  Of  this  num- 
ber the  greatest  proportion  are  spasmodic  shippers,  mak- 


76  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


ing  their  production  from  the  efforts  of  leasers.  There  are 
thirty  large  mines  in  the  district,  each  producing  $100,000 
or  more  annually.  Dividends  paid  by  the  mining  compa- 
nies in  1905  amounted  to  $1,707,000.  Total  dividends 
paid  to  December  31,  1905,  $32,742,000.  There  are  em- 
ployed on  an  average  some  six  thousand  three  hundred 
men  in  the  mines,  and  the  monthly  pay-roll  runs  to  about 
$652,189,  exclusive  of  large  salaries  paid  mine  superin- 
tendents and  managers  and  clerks  in  offices.  The  lowest 
wage  paid  in  the  camp  is  three  dollars  per  day  of  eight 
hours,  while  many  of  the  miners  receive  more  than  that. 
The  average  wage  per  day  paid  for  labor  amounts  to 
$3.44.  There  are  twelve  towns  in  the  district,  with  a 
population  of  fifty  thousand  people.  During  the  period 
of  excitement  the  population  was  about  seventy  thou- 
sand. The  social  life  of  the  people  is  much  the  same  as 
in  other  towns. 

There  is  a free  school  system,  with  an  enrolment  of 
nearly  four  thousand  pupils,  with  a hundred  and  eighteen 
teachers  under  a superintendent  with  an  assistant.  There 
are  thirty-four  churches,  representing  almost  every  variety 
of  faith. 

Cripple  Creek,  the  largest  of  these,  lies  in  a hollow  of 
the  mountains,  whose  surrounding  ranges  are  a thousand 
feet  above  the  town.  It  consists  mostly  of  one  long 
street,  with  minor  cross-streets,  and  there  are  little  shops 
with  chiffons,  “smart”  ribbons  and  laces,  and  all  sorts 


VIEW  FROM  BULL  HILL,  RICHEST  GULCH  IN  THE  WORLD 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  77 


of  articles  of  dress  making  gay  the  show  windows,  and 
one  sees  women  and  children  in  all  their  pretty  and 
stylish  summer  attire.  There  are  two  daily  papers  and  an 
“ opera  house.”  Cripple  Creek  is  a rather  favorite  point 
with  dramatic  companies,  as  the  entire  town,  the  entire 
district,  turns  out,  and  the  audiences  do  not  lack  in  either 
enthusiasm  or  numbers. 

Mr.  William  Caruthers,  the  district  superintendent, 
estimates  that  this  region  has  become  one  of  the  greatest 
gold-producing  regions  in  the  world ; and  in  rapid  devel- 
opment, and  in  the  richness  of  its  ores,  nothing  like  it  has 
ever  been  known  before.  In  fifteen  years  the  cattle  ranges 
have  been  transformed  into  a populous  district  with  fifty 
thousand  people,  and  with  all  the  modern  conveniences  of 
Eastern  cities. 

The  electric  trolley  system  connects  all  the  towns  in 
Cripple  Creek  district  and  passes  near  all  the  large  mines. 
This  trolley  line  is  owned  and  controlled  by  the  “ Short 
Line,”  and  is  greatly  sought  for  pleasure  excursions  both 
by  visitors  and  residents. 

Electric  cars  convey  the  miners  up  and  down  the  hills  to 
their  respective  mines.  The  class  of  laborers  is  said  to  be 
greatly  improved  of  late  years,  and  Mr.  Caruthers  informs 
the  questioner  that  no  problematic  characters  are  longer 
tolerated  in  Cripple  Creek.  It  has  ceased  to  be  the  para- 
dise of  those  who,  for  various  unspecified  personal  reasons, 
were  unable  to  keep  their  residence  in  other  cities,  or  had 


78  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


left  their  own  particular  country  for  their  country’s  good. 
When  such  characters  appear,  Mr.  Caruthers  and  his  staff 
guide  them  with  unerring  certainty  to  the  railroad  track, 
with  the  assurance  that  these  intruders  are  wanted  in 
Colorado  Springs,  and  that,  although  there  may  be  no 
parlor-car  train,  with  all  luxuries  warranted,  leaving  at 
that  moment  for  their  migrating  convenience,  yet  the  steel 
track  is  before  them,  and  it  leads  directly  to  Pike’s  Peak 
venue  (the  leading  business  street  of  Colorado  Springs), 
and  they  are  advised  at  once  to  fare  forth  on  this  mountain 
thoroughfare.  The  persuasion  given  by  Mr.  Caruthers 
and  his  assistants  is  of  such  an  order  that  it  is  usually 
accepted  without  remonstrance,  and  the  objectionable 
specimens  of  humanity  realize  that  their  climb  of  several 
thousand  feet  up  to  the  famous  gold  camps  was  by  way  of 
being  a superfluous  expenditure  of  energy  on  their  part. 

The  special  entertainment  in  Cripple  Creek  is  to  make 
the  electric  circle  tour,  on  electric  trolley  cars,  between 
Cripple  Creek  and  Victor,  going  on  the  “ low  line  ” one 
way,  and  the  “ high  line  ” the  other.  The  high  line  is 
almost  even  with  the  summit  of  Pike’s  Peak,  that  looms 
up  within  neighborly  distance,  and  the  splendor  of  the 
Sangre  de  Cristo  range  adds  a bewildering  beauty  to  the 
matchless  panorama.  On  this  round  trip  — a trolley  ride 
probably  not  equalled  in  the  entire  world  — one  gets  quite 
near  many  of  the  famous  mines,  whose  machinery  offers  a 
curious  feature  in  the  landscape. 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  79 

Taking  the  trip  in  the  late  brilliant  afternoon  sunshine 
along  this  mountain  crest,  offers  the  spectacle  of  an  entire 
landscape  all  in  a deep  rose-pink,  gleaming,  in  contrast 
with  the  dark  green  of  the  cedar  forests,  like  a tran forma- 
tion scene  on  a stage. 

The  tourist  who  regards  this  life  as  a probationary 
period,  to  be  employed,  as  largely  as  possible,  in  festas 
and  entertaining  experiences,  may  add  a unique  one  to 
his  repertoire,  should  he  be  so  favored  by  the  gods  ; and 
sojourning  in  neighborly  proximity  to  the  ‘‘  Garden  of  the 
Gods,”  why  should  they  not  bestir  themselves  in  his  favor  ? 
At  all  events,  if  he  has  contrived  to  invoke  their  interest, 
and  finds  himself  invited  by  Mr.  MacWatters  (the  courte- 
ous and  vigilant  General  Passenger  Agent  of  the  “ Short 
Line”)  to  make  the  return  journey  from  Cripple  Creek, 
down  below  the  clouds  to  Colorado  Springs  in  a hand  car, 
he  will  enjoy  an  experience  to  be  treasured  forever.  For 
the  hand  car  runs  down  of  its  own  accord,  b}^  the  law  of 
gravitation,  and  is  provided  with  an  air-brake  to  regulate 
its  momentum.  To  complete  the  enchantment  of  condi- 
tions, — and  it  need  not  be  said  that  in  a Land  of  En- 
chantment conditions  conform  to  the  prevailing  spirit  and 
of  course  are  enchanting,  — to  complete  these,  let  it  be 
a partie  carree^  with  Mrs.  MacWatters,  and  with  Ellis 
Meredith,  the  well-known  Colorado  author,  to  make  up 
the  number ; for  the  keenest  political  writer  in  Colorado 
is  a woman,  and  this  woman  is  Ellis  Meredith.  It  is  a 


80  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


name  partly  real,  partly  a literary  nom-de-plume,  and  which 
is  the  one  and  the  other  need  not  be  chronicled  here.  The 
name  of  Ellis  Meredith  has  flown  widely  on  the  wings  of 
fame  as  the  author  of  a most  interesting  story,  “The 
Master-Knot  of  Human  Fate,”  which  made  an  unusual 
impression  on  critical  readers.  “ The  Master-Knot  ” is 
an  imaginative  romance,  whose  scene  is  laid  on  one  of 
the  peaks  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  presupposes 
an  extraordinary  if  not  an  impossible  situation,  and  on 
this  builds  up  a story,  brilliant,  thoughtful,  tantalizing 
in  its  undercurrent  of  suggestive  interest,  and  altogether 
unique. 

In  her  connection  with  a leading  Denver  journal  Miss 
Meredith  wields  a trenchant  pen,  and  one  reading  these 
strong  and  able  articles  could  hardly  realize  that  the 
same  writer  is  the  author  of  poems,  — delicate,  exquis- 
ite, tender,  — and  of  prose  romance  which  is  increas- 
ingly sought  by  all  lovers  of  the  art  of  fiction.  With 
such  a party  of  friends  as  these,  what  words  can  interpret 
the  necromancy  of  this  sunset  journey  winding  down  the 
heights  of  majestic  mountains,  amid  a forest  of  towering 
peaks,  and  colossal  rocks  looming  up  like  giant  spectres 
through  the  early  twilight  that  gathers  when  the  sun 
sinks  behind  some  lofty  pinnacle  ! The  rose  of  afterglow 
burned  in  the  east,  reflecting  its  color  over  the  Cheyenne 
canons,  and  even  changing  the  granite  precipice  of  the 
“ Devil’s  Slide  ” — a thousand  feet  of  precipitous  rock, 


THE  devil’s  slide,  CRIPPLE  CREEK  SHORT  LINE 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  81 


through  which  the  steel  track  is  cut  — with  a reflection 
of  its  rose  and  amber.  Cathedral  Park  took  on  a new 
majesty  in  the  deepening  haze.  At  the  foot  of  one  of  its 
tall  spires  is  an  ice  cavern,  which  holds  its  perpetual  supply 
all  summer.  The  solid  roadbed,  uniformly  ballasted  with 
disintegrated  granite,  built  on  solid  rock  for  its  entire 
extent,  and  totally  devoid  of  dust,  gives  to  the  hand  car 
the  ease  and  smoothness  of  a motor  on  level  ground.  No 
one  can  wonder  that  this  road,  built  originally  to  convey 
coal  and  other  supplies  to  Cripple  Creek,  and  to  bring 
the  ore  from  the  mines  to  the  mills  and  smelters  (a  trans- 
portation it  serves  daily),  has  also,  by  its  phenomenal 
fascinations,  achieved  a great  passenger  traffic  made  up  of 
the  tourists  and  visitors  to  Colorado.  Even  travellers 
going  through  to  the  Pacific  Coast  make  the  detour  from 
La  Junta  to  Colorado  Springs  to  enjoy  the  “ Short  Line,'’ 
just  as  they  go  from  Wiih’  ms  to  Bright  Angel  Trail  for  the 
Grand  Canon.  Wi’ h this  aerial  journey  through  a sunset 
fairyland,  where  t e mysterious  canons  and  gorges  lay  in 
shadow  and  the  Colorado  sunshine  painted  pinnacles  and 
towers  in  liquid  gold,  what  wonder  that  our  poet,  discov- 
ering her  lyre,  offered  the  following  “ Ode  ” to  the  Short 
Line  ” : 

“ There ’s  the  splendor  that  was  Grecian  ; 

There ’s  the  glory  that  was  Rome ; 

But  we  know  a brighter  splendor. 

And  we  find  it  here  at  home. 


6 


82 


THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Not  the  Alps  or  Himalayas, 

Not  old  Neptune’s  foaming  brine. 

Can  surpass  the  wealth  of  beauty 
Of  this  state  of  yours  and  mine. 

“ All  the  fairy-tales  and  legends 

Of  the  time  that ’s  passed  away  ; 

All  the  scientific  wonders 

That  amaze  the  world  to-day  ; 

All  the  artist  can  imagine. 

All  the  engineer  design. 

Are  excelled  in  magic  beauty 

On  the  Cripple  Creek  Short  Line. 

“ Oh,  those  mountains  pierce  the  heavens 
Till  its  radiance  glistens  through. 

And  the  clouds  in  golden  glory 
Float  across  its  field  of  blue  ; 

And  the  soul  that  may  be  weary 
Feels  the  harmony  divine 
Of  this  wonder-tour  of  Nature 

On  the  Cripple  Creek  Short  Line. 

“ There  are  minarets  and  towers  ; 

There  are  stately  domes  and  fair  ; 
There  are  lordly,  snow-capped  mountains, 
There  are  lovely  valleys  there  ; 

And  no  ancient  moated  castle. 

Frowning  down  upon  the  Rhine, 
Looks  on  scenes  of  greater  beauty 

Than  the  Cripple  Creek  Short  Line, 

There ’s  a vision  and  a-  grandeur 

When  the  plains  come  into  view. 

And  one  seems  to  see  the  ocean 
In  the  misty  rim  of  blue  ; 


1 


COLORADO  SPRINGS  AND  TUNNEL  NO.  6,  CRIPPLE  CREEK  SHORT  LINE 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  83 


And  the  eyes  of  landlocked  sailors 
With  unbidden  teardrops  shine, 

As  they  see  the  far-off  billows 

From  the  Cripple  Creek  Short  Line. 

“ There ’s  a strength  and  there ’s  a refuge 
In  the  everlasting  hills  ; 

There ’s  a gleam  of  joy  and  gladness 
In  the  leaping  sparkling  rills  ; 

There ’s  a benediction  sweeter 

Than  the  murmur  of  the  pine. 

And  it  falls  on  all  who  travel 

O’er  the  Cripple  Creek  Short  Line.” 

Ellis  Meredith  has  often  pictured  in  song  the  charm 
and  romance  of  Colorado  with  the  vividness  and  power 
that  characterize  her  poems  which  are  essentially  those  of 
insight  and  imagination ; but  in  the  opinion  of  many 
of  her  admirers  she  has  hardly  laid  at  the  shrine  of 
the  muses  any  more  felicitous  votive  offering  than  this 
little  impromptu. 

A summer  in  Colorado  Springs  is  one  that  is  set  in  the 
heart  of  fascinating  attractions.  Nor  is  the  Pike’s  Peak 
region  a summer  land  alone,  for  the  autumn  is  even 
more  beautiful,  and  the  winters  are  all  crystal  and  sun- 
shine and  full  of  exquisite  exhilaration  and  delight  in 
mountain  regions  that  take  on  new  forms  of  interest. 
Colorado  Springs  is  not  merely  — nor  even  mostly  — an 
excursion  city  for  pleasure- seekers  ; it  is  a city  of  per- 
manent homes,  whose  residential  advantages  attract  and 
create  its  phenomenal  growth. 


84  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


To  open  one’s  eyes  on  the  purple  line  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  with  Pike’s  Peak  towering  into  the  sky,  in 
a luminous  crystal  air  that  makes  even  existence  a delight, 
is  an  alluring  experience.  To  look  over  the  beautiful 
city  of  Colorado  Springs,  with  its  broad  streets  and 
boulevards,  and  lines  of  trees  on  either  side ; its  electric 
lights,  electric  cars,  well-built  brick  blocks,  churches, 
schools,  and  free  public  library  ; its  interesting  and  enter- 
prising journalism ; to  come  in  contact  with  the  in- 
telligence and  refinement  of  the  people,  — is  to  realize 
that  this  is  no  provincial  Western  town,  but  instead, 
a gay  and  fashionable  city,  with'  the  aspect  of  a summer 
watering  place.  Manitou,  which  lies  six  miles  away 
at  the  very  base  of  Pike’s  Peak,  and  Colorado  Springs 
are  connected  by  electric  cars  running  along  the  mountain 
line,  and  there  is  a great  social  interchange.  It  is  simply 
a whirl  of  social  life  in  the  late  summer,  and  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  guest  is  expected  to  flit  from  one  garden 
party,  and  tea,  and  reception  to  another,  within  a given 
time,  reminds  him  of  a London  season.  In  the  morning 
every  fashionable  woman  drives  to  Prospect  Lake,  and 
from  her  bathing  in  its  blue  waters  to  the  informal 
“ hop”  at  night,  she  is  on  a perpetual  round  of  gayety 
if  she  so  desire. 

The  wide  range  and  freedom  of  life  in  Colorado  Springs 
is  equally  enjoyable.  The  artist,  the  thinker,  the  writer, 
finds  an  ideal  environment  in  which  to  pursue  his  work. 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  85 


This  beautiful  residence  city,  founded  by  General  Palmer 
in  1871,  has  now  a population  of  some  thirty  thousand, 
and  although  lying  at  the  foot  of  Pike's  Peak,  it  is  yet 
on  an  elevation  of  six  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  Adjoining  Colorado  Springs  is  Colorado  City, 
a manufacturing  town  of  five  thousand  inhabitants,  and 
Manitou,  the  little  town  at  the  immediate  base  of  Pike's 
Peak,  with  some  two  thousand  residents,  to  which,  in 
the  summer,  is  added  an  equal  number  of  visitors,  who 
bestow  themselves  in  the  attractive  hotels  and  boarding- 
houses or  who  occupy  cottages  or  camps  in  the  foothills. 
Colorado  Springs  was  founded  in  a wise  and  beneficent 
spirit.  Every  deed  in  the  town  contains  a clause  pro- 
hibiting the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and  by  the 
terms  of  the  contract  any  violation  of  this  agreement 
renders  the  deed  null  and  void  and  the  property  reverts 
to  the  city.  Education  is  made  compulsory,  and  on  this 
basis  of  temperance,  education,  and  morality  the  town 
is  founded.  • It  is  laid  out  with  generous  ideas  and  with 
unfailing  allegiance  to  municipal  ideals  of  taste.  The 
avenues  are  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  wide  and  the 
streets  are  all  one  hundred  feet  wide.  Lying  midway 
between  Denver  and  Pueblo,  the  two  largest  cities  of 
the  state,  Colorado  Springs  is  within  two  hours  of  the 
former  and  one  hour  of  the  latter. 

Colorado  College,  a co-ed ucational  institution,  is  largely 
endowed,  and  it  has  from  eight  to  nine  hundred  students. 


86  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Rev.  Samuel  A.  Eliot,  D.D.,  of  Boston,  the  president 
of  the  Unitarian  Association,  was  invited  to  .deliver 
the  Commencement  Address  at  this  college  in  1905,  and 
on  this  occasion  Dr.  Eliot  said  : 

“ Nothing  can  surpass  the  academic  dignity  of  a commence- 
ment at  a Western  State  University.  The  perfection  of  the 
discipline  would  make  our  elegant,  but  often  distressed,  ^ mas- 
ter of  ceremonies’  at  Harvard  green  with  envy.  At  our 
Eastern  Colleges  there  are  still  individual  idiosyncracies  and 
perverse  prejudices  and  traditions  of  simpler  days  to  be 
considered.  There  are  some  old-fashioned  members  of  the 
faculty  who  just  won’t  wear  the  academic  gown  or  the  appro- 
priately colored  hood,  and  there  are  always  some  reckless 
seniors  who  will  wear  tan  shoes  or  a straw  hat.  Not  so  in 
Kansas  and  Colorado,  in  Iowa  and  Nebraska.  There  every 
professor  and  every  senior  wears  his  uniform  as  if  he  were 
used  to  it ; each  one  knows  his  place  and  his  part  and  performs 
it  impressively.  The  academic  procession,  headed  by  the 
regents  in  their  gowns  and  followed  by  the  members  of  the 
various  faculties  with  their  characteristic  hoods  and  stripes, 
and  by  the  senior  classes  of  the  college  and  the  various  pro- 
fessional schools,  is  perfect  in  its  orderly  procedure,  and  the 
commencement  exercises  themselves  are  carried  through  with 
a solemnity  which  is  sometimes  awesome.  I caught  myself 
almost  wishing  that  some  senior  would  forget  to  take  off  his 
Oxford  cap  at  the  proper  time  or  trip  on  his  gown  as  he  came 
up  the  steps  of  the  platform  to  get  his  sheepskin,  but  no  such 
accident  marred  the  impressiveness  of  the  occasion.” 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  87 


Dr.  Eliot  playfully  touches  a fact  in  the  social  as  well 
as  in  the  academic  life  of  the  West  in  these  remarks. 
The  informalities  so  frequently  experienced  in  recognized 
social  life  in  the  Eastern  cities  are  seldom  encountered  in 
the  corresponding  circles  of  life  in  the  West,  all  observ- 
ance of  times  and  seasons,  as  calling  hours,  ceremonial 
invitations,  and  driving  being  quite  strictly  relegated 
to  their  true  place  in  the  annals  of  etiquette.  In  his 
Commencement  address  before  Colorado  College  in  1905 
Dr.  Eliot  said,  regarding  the  several  educational  schools  of 
Colorado : 

Thus  in  Colorado  the  State  University  is  at  Boulder,  the 
Agricultural  College  at  Fort  Collins,  the  Normal  School  at 
Greeley,  the  School  of  Mines  at  Golden,  and  so  on.  The 
result  is  not  only  an  injudicious  diffusion  of  energy,  but  real 
waste  and  sometimes  deplorable  rivalry.  Doubtless  it  is  now 
too  late  to  rectify  this  mistake.  Provincial  jealousies  and  a 
sense  of  local  ownership  are  too  strong  to  permit  of  desirable 
concentration,  and  these  states  are  probably  permanently 
burdened  with  the  necessity  of  sustaining  half  a dozen  in- 
stitutions which  must  often  duplicate  equipment  and  courses 
of  instruction.” 

Leading  authorities  in  the  Centennial  State  do  not 
wholly  agree  with  this  view.  The  distribution  of  an 
educational  centre  in  one  city  and  part  of  the  state  and 
another  in  a different  part,  contributes  to  the  building  up 


88  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

of  different  cities  and  to  a certain  concentration  on  the 
part  of  the  students  on  the  special  subjects  pursued. 
President  Slocum  of  Colorado  College,  President  Baker  of 
the  State  University,  President  Snyder  of  the  State  Nor- 
mal College  in  Greeley,  with  other  college  presidents  and 
their  colleagues  and  faculties,  are  devoting  their  lives  to 
the  interests  of  higher  education  in  its  broadest  and  most 
complete  sense ; and  with  their  own  splendid  equipments 
in  learning,  their  patience  and  ability  in  research,  their 
zeal  for  teaching,  and  their  intense  interest  in  the  prob- 
lems of  university  life  in  a new  state,  they  are  making  a 
record  of  the  most  impressive  quality.  They  are  the 
great  pathfinders  of  the  educational  future. 

Colorado  has  the  advantage  of  a larger  percentage  of 
American  population  than  any  other  of  the  Western 
inland  states,  there  being  only  twenty  per  cent  of  foreign 
admixture  in  the  entire  six  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
people,  — a fact  that  is  especially  to  be  considered  in 
educational  progress. 

The  high  school  building  in  Colorado  Springs ; the 
court  house,  costing  a half-million  dollars ; the  new  city 
library  of  Colorado  stone ; the  thirty-five  miles  of  electric 
railway ; a water  system  costing  over  a million  of  dol- 
lars ; the  admirable  telephone  system,  — these  and  the  fine 
architectural  art  would  render  it  a desirable  residence  city 
even  aside  from  the  group  of  scenic  wonders  which  has 
made  it  famous  all  over  the  w^orld. 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  89 


General  William  J.  Palmer,  the  founder  of  Colorado 
Springs,  is  one  of  the  great  benefactors  of  the  state  of 
Colorado.  “General  Palmer  has  always  been  a builder 
for  the  future,”  says  a local  authority.  “ His  remarkable 
foresight  was  best  exemplified  in  the  construction  of  the 
Rio  Grande  railroad,  — the  road  which  made  Colorado 
famous.  Colorado  Springs  is  another  monument  to  his 
prophetic  vision.  With  an  ample  fortune  he  has  retired 
from  business  life,  but  is  busier  than  ever  with  his  many 
philanthropies,  all  of  which  have  an  eye  to  the  future. 

“At  great  expense  he  has  abolished  Bear  Creek  toll- 
gate,  and  has  constructed  a wonderful  carriage  road 
through  this  beautiful  canon,  and  will  give  it  to  the 
people  as  a permanent  blessing.” 

This  Bear  Creek  Canon  lies  north  of  Cheyenne  Canon 
— about  five  miles  from  Colorado  Springs.  The  road 
winds  back  and  forth  in  a zigzag  elevation,  with  new  vistas 
of  enchantment  at  every  turn,  — towering  mountains,  the 
Garden  of  the  Gods,  — that  strange,  weird  spectacle,  St. 
Peter’s  Dome,  Phantom  Falls,  Silver  Cascade,  Helen  Hunt 
Falls,  and  other  points  of  romantic  beauty. 

Colorado  Springs  has  a great  park  system  at  a cost 
already  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  with  the 
buildings  and  other  features  projected  the  cost  will  be 
hardly  less  than  half  a million.  There  are  to  be  floral 
gardens,  an  Italian  sunken  basin  with  a fountain  rising 
in  streams,  after  the  fashion  of  the  fountains  of  Versailles, 


90  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


— and  an  art  gallery  is  soon  to  be  added  to  this  lovely  and 
enterprising  city.  Already  the  city  has  Palmer  Park, — 
comprising  eight  hundred  acres,  donated  by  the  generous 
and  beneficent  General  Palmer,  — a park  that  contains 
Austin’s  Bluffs,  from  which  a magnificent  view  is  obtained. 

It  is  to  General  Palmer  that  all  the  charming  extension 
of  terraced  drives  and  walks  in  North  Cheyenne  Canon  is 
due,  — the  road  often  terraced  on  the  side  of  the  moun- 
tain ; and  here  and  there  little  refreshment  stands,  where 
a sandwich,  a glass  of  lemonade,  a cup*bf  tea  may  be  had, 
are  found  in  these  wild  altitudes.  In  Palmer  Park  one 
portion  has  been  appropriately  named  Statuary  Park,  from 
the  multitude  of  strange  forms  and  figures  that  Nature 
has  chiselled  in  the  sandstone.  Gray’s  Peak,  like  a dim 
shadow  on  the  far  horizon  to  the  north,  and  the  faint, 
beautiful  outline  of  the  Spanish  Peaks  to  the  south,  are 
seen  from  this  park,  while  the  massive  portals  of  the 
“ Garden  of  the  Gods  ” in  their  burning  red  are  near, 
and  at  one  side  the  rose  pink  rocks  of  Blair  Athol. 

General  Palmer’s  residence  in  Glen  Eyrie  is  one  of  the 
poetic  places  of  the  world.  The  romantic  environment  of 
mountain  canons,  towers,  and  domes  of  the  fantastic 
sandstone  shapes,  and  overhanging  rocks  that  loom  up 
thousands  of  feet  on  a mountain  side,  impart  a wild  charm 
that  no  words  can  picture.  The  architectural  effects  have 
been  kept  in  artistic  correspondence  with  the  romantic 
scenery. 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  91 


Monument  Valley  Park  is  the  latest  of  General  Palmer’s 
munificent  gifts  to  Colorado  Springs.  It  was  a tract  of 
low  waste  land  some  two  miles  in  length  and  covering 
an  area  of  two  hundred  or  more  acres,  but  its  transforma- 
tion into  the  present  beautiful  park  is  the  realization  of 
an  Aladdin’s  dream.  An  artistic  stone  drinking-foun- 
tain ; a wide  vista  of  trees  relieved  by  a low  Italian  basin 
with  fountains ; Monument  Creek,  made  to  be  sixty  feet 
wide  between  its  banks;  the  creation  of  artificial  lakes; 
and  there  are  included  in  the  scheme  conservatories, 
rustic  pavilions,  and  botanical  gardens.  This  park  is  one 
of  the  most  extensive  improvements  in  decorative  effect, 
that  is  known  in  any  city. 

Monument  Park  is  distinctive  from  Monument  Valley 
Park,  the  former  lying  some  ten  miles  from  the  city,  and 
it  is  picturesque  beyond  words. 

The  “ Garden  of  the  Gods  ” has  achieved  world-wide 
fame.  The  “ Gateway,”  the  ‘‘  Cathedral  Spires,”  ‘‘  Bal- 
anced Rock,”  and  other  singular  formations  fascinate  the 
visitor  and  draw  him  back  again  and  again.  A local 
writer  thus  describes  the  majestic  “ Gateway  ” : 

'^Two  immense  slabs  of  red  sandstone,  soft  and  beautiful 
in  their  coloring,  tower  over  three  hundred  feet  high  on  either 
side  and  seem  to  challenge  the  right  of  the  stranger  to  enter 
the  sacred  portals.  Napoleon,  at  the  Pyramids,  sought  to  im- 
press his  soldiers  with  the  thought  that  from  that  eminence 
four  thousand  years  looked  down  upon  them.  But  from  here 


92  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


geological  ages  of  untold  length  look  down  upon  the  be- 
holder. In  close  proximity  may  be  found  limestone,  gypsum, 
white  sandstone,  and  red  sandstone,  each  representing  a 
different  geological  era,  and  each,  in  all  probability,  represent- 
ing millions  of  years  in  its  foraiation.” 

The  “ Garden  of  the  Gods  represents  one  of  those 
inexplicable  epochs  of  Nature’s  creations  as  does,  only 
in  a more  marvellous  degree,  the  Grand  Canon  and  the 
Petrified  Forest.  A scientist  says  of  these  grotesque  shapes 
that  “ their  strangely  garish  colors,  red  and  yellow  and 
white,  in  enormous  masses,  lofty  buttresses,  towers  and 
pinnacles,  besides  formations  of  lesser  size,  in  fantastic 
shapes,  that  readily  lend  themselves  to  the  imagination, 
are  sedimentary  strata,  which  once  lay  horizontally  upon 
the  mountain’s  breast,  but  that  some  gigantic  convulsion 
of  nature  threw  them  into  their  present  perpendicular 
attitude,  with  their  roots,  as  it  were,  extending  hun- 
dreds of  feet  underground.  The  erosion  of  water,  when 
this  was  all  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  accounts  for  the 
shaping. 

“ The  gateway  to  the  Garden  is  really  the  grandest 
feature,  rising  perpendicularly  on  either  side  twice  the 
height  of  Niagara,  and  framing  in  rich  terra  cotta  a most 
entrancing  picture  of  the  blue  and  tawny  peak,  apparently 
only  a little  way  on  the  other  side.” 

Any  writer  on  Colorado  Springs  is  embarrassed  by  the 
fact  that  the  great  founder  and  benefactor  of  the  city 


CATHEDRAL  SPIRES,  GARDEN  OF  THE  GODS, 
COLORADO  SPRINGS,  COLORADO 


GATEWAY  OF  THE  GARDEN  OF  THE  GODS, 
COLORADO  SPRINGS,  COLORADO 


THE  REGION  OF  PIKE’S  PEAK  93 


has  requested  that  his  name  is  not  to  be  recorded  in  con- 
nection with  his  great  and  constant  gifts  to  the  munici- 
pality ; and  while  it  is  far  from  the  desire  of  any  one  to 
disregard  the  expressed  wish  of  a man  whose  modesty 
is  as  great  as  is  his  munificent  generosity,  it  is  yet  im- 
possible to  tell  the  story  of  Colorado  Springs  without 
perpetual  references  to  her  distinguished  citizen,  her  great 
and  noble  benefactor  and  founder.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  there  is  probably  not,  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States,  an  instance  parallel  to  the  story  of  General 
Palmer  and  Colorado  Springs.  Yet  beyond  this  bare 
mention,  in  which  one  even  thus  records  that  which 
General  Palmer  has  wished  to  have  had  left  without 
reference,  one  is  under  bonds  not  to  go.  The  Recording 
Angel  may  not  be  so  plastic  to  the  expressed  preferences 
of  the  wise  founder  and  the  munificent  benefactor  of  the 
charming  city ; and  the  vast  and  generous  gifts,  the  noble 
character  of  the  citizen  whose  life  and  example  is  the  most 
priceless  legacy  that  he  could  bequeath  to  Colorado 
Springs,  however  priceless  are  his  long  series  of  gifts, — 
these  are  inevitably  inscribed  in  that  eternal  record  not 
made  with  hands,  on  whose  pages  must  ever  remain, 
in  shining  letters,  the  honored  name  of  General  William  J. 
Palmer,  whose  energy  and  whose  lofty  spirit  have  invested 
this  beautiful  centre  of  the  picturesque  region  of  Pike’s 
Peak  with  the  spell  of  an  enchanted  city  lying  fair  in  a 
Land  of  Enchantment. 


94  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


CHAPTER  IV 

SUMMER  WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO 

“ God  only  knows  how  Saadi  dined  ; 

Roses  he  ate  and  drank  the  wind.  ” 

Emerson 

Deep  in  the  heart  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  lies  Glenwood 
Springs,  a fashionable  watering  place,  where  a great  hotel, 
bearing  the  name  of  the  Centennial  State,  with  every  pretty 
decorative  device  imaginable,  allures  the  summer  idlers,  and 
where  various  kinds  of  springs  and  baths  furnish  excuse  for 
occupation.  All  varieties  of  invalidism,  real  or  fancied, 
meet  their  appropriate  cure.  One  lady  declared  that  the 
especial  elixir  of  life  was  found  in  a hot  cave  that  yawns 
its  cavernous  and  mysterious  depths  in  an  adjacent  moun- 
tain. Another  continued  to  thrive  on  (or  in)  the  spar- 
kling waters  of  “ the  pool,"”  wliich  is,  for  the  most  part,  a 
dream  of  fair  women,  relay  after  relay,  all  day  and  even- 
ing, swimming  about  after  the  fashion  of  the  Rhine  sisters  ; 
and  those  who  do  not  take  kindly  to  the  pool  or  the  dark 
and  “ hot  ” cave  fall  upon  some  particular  geyser  and  ap- 
propriate it  for  their  own.  Woe  to  the  woman  who  in- 
terferes with  another  woman’s  geyser!  The  whole  region 
around  Glenwood  Springs  is  phenomenal.  A hot  sulphur 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  95 


spring  boils  up  at  the  rate  of  twenty  thousand  gallons  a 
minute.  The  “pool”  — where  the  Rhine  maidens  are  for- 
ever floating,  morning,  noon,  and  night  — covers  over  an 
acre,  and  is  from  three  to  six  or  seven  feet  deep.  Two 
currents  of  water  are  constantly  pouring  into  it,  — the  hot 
(at  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  degrees)  at  a rate  of  ten 
thousand  gallons  a minute,  and  the  cold  from  a mountain 
stream.  A stream  constantly  runs  from  it,  a part  of  which 
is  utilized  as  a waterfall  in  the  centre  of  the  large  dining- 
room of  the  hotel.  On  one  bank  of  this  pool  is  a colossal 
stone  bathhouse  (costing  over  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars), where  every  conceivable  variety  of  the  bath  is  admin- 
istered, and  from  which  “ the  pool  ” is  entered.  In  warm 
evenings,  when  the  full  midsummer  moon  peeps  over  the 
mountains,  the  groups  of  girls,  one  after  another,  begin 
mysteriously  to  disappear,  and  in  reply  to  a question  as 
to  the  destination  of  this  evening  pilgrimage  one  bewitch- 
ing creature  in  floating  blue  organdie,  as  she  flitted  past, 
laughingly  answered,  “ Come  to  the  pool  and  see.”  There 
was  no  time  to  be  lost.  The  moon  in  silver  splendor  was 
climbing  over  the  mountains,  and  the  girls  emerged  from 
their  dainty  evening  gowns  to  array  themselves  in  bath- 
ing suits.  A few  minutes  later  they  were  to  be  seen 
at  this  mysterious  try  sting  place  at  “ the  pool,”  the  only 
difference  being  that  some  were  outside  and  some  inside. 
Surely  those  inside  had  the  best  of  it.  How  can  the 
scene  be  pictured  ? From  the  broad  piazza  of  the  hotel 


96  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


a terraced  walk  ran  down  through  the  greenest  of  lawns, 
with  shade  trees  and  a fountain  resplendent  in  colored 
electric  lights.  The  pool  lies  in  an  open  glade.  Not 
far  away  is  one  of  the  ranges  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
over  which  the  August  moon  was  climbing.  Tall  electric 
lights  mingled  with  the  moonlight,  giving  the  most  curious 
effects  of  chiaroscuro  through  the  glade  and  the  defiles 
of  the  mountains.  On  one  side  of  this  immense  natato- 
rium  rose  the  vast  stone  bathhouse,  — a beautiful  piece  of 
architecture.  Near  by  the  round  sulphur  spring  boiled  and 
bubbled  in  a way  to  suggest  the  witches’  rhyme  : 

“ Double,  double  toil  and  trouble  ; 

Fire,  burn  ; and,  cauldron,  bubble.” 

A high  toboggan  slide  in  one  place  descended  into  the 
pool,  and  was  much  used  by  the  young  athletes,  — the  men, 
not  the  girls.  In  the  pool  a natural  fountain  of  cold  water 
shot  high  in  the  air.  The  swimmers  abounded.  Those 
who  were  unable  to  swim  would  cling  to  a floating  ladder. 
Here  in  the  moonlight  the  girls  — clinging  two  and  three 
together  — circle  around  in  the  water,  needing  only  the 
melody  of  the  Rhine  sisters  to  complete  the  illusion  of 
one  of  the  most  enchanting  scenes  in  the  entire  Wagner 
operas. 

Rev.  Frederick  Campbell  wrote  of  this  unique  place  : 

There  is  but  one  word  to  utter  at  Glenwood  Springs  — 
‘ Wonderful ! ’ If  one  enjoys  life  at  the  most  luxurious  of 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  97 


hotels,  here  it  is  at  Hotel  Colorado.  Built  in  the  Italian 
style  of  peach-blow  sandstone  and  light  brick,  lighted  with 
electricity,  a searchlight  reaching  from  one  of  its  towers  at 
night  and  lighting  the  train  up  the  valley,  a powerful  foun- 
tain supplied  from  the  mountain  stream  up  the  canon  pour- 
ing the  geyser  170  feet  straight  in  the  air,  and  views,  views 
everywhere.” 

The  hot  cave  is  as  wonderful  as  anything  around  Sorrento 
or  Amalfi.  In  fact,  all  Colorado  reminds  the  traveller  of 
Italian  scenery.  It  has  been  called  the  Switzerland  of 
America,  but  it  is  far  more  the  Italy.  It  has  the  Italian 
sky,  the  Italian  coloring,  and  the  mysterious  and  inde- 
finable enchantment  of  that  land  of  romance  and  dream. 
The  volcanic  phenomena  is  often  startlingly  similar  to 
that  of  Italy.  This  hot  cave  at  Glenwood  Springs  is  of 
the  same  order  as  those  on  Capri  and  the  adjacent  coasts 
of  Italy.  In  this  cave  at  Glenwood  hot  air  continually 
comes  up  from  some  unknown  region,  and  it  is  utilized  for 
curative  purposes.  The  two  or  three  caves  have  been 
made  into  one,  a cement  floor  laid,  and  marble  seats  with 
marble  backs  put  in  (the  ancient  Romans  would  have 
found  this  a Paradise).  Here  come  — not  the  halt  or 
the  blind,  but  the  people  who  take  “ the  cure.”  The 
process  is  to  sit  on  the  marble  seat  with  a linen  bag  drawn 
completely  over  the  entire  form,  with  a hole  for  the  head 
to  emerge.  Around  the  neck  is  placed  a towel  wrung  out 
of  cold  water.  To  see  a cave  filled  with  these  modem 

7 


98  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


mummies,  sitting  solemnly,  done  up  in  their  linen  cases, 
like  upholstery  covering,  is  a spectacle.  The  men  go  in  the 
morning,  the  women  in  the  afternoon.  One  lady  oblig- 
ingly  gave  the  data  of  her  ‘‘  cure.”  Twice  a week  she  mi- 
grated in  negligee  to  the  hot  cave,  and  sat  done  up  in  her 
linen  covering,  bathing  in  the  hot  air  at  one  hundred  and 
twenty  degrees  or  so.  Other  afternoons  were  devoted  to 
the  hot  sulphur  water  bathing,  and  what  with  the  various 
gradations  of  temperature  and  the  work  of  the  attend- 
ants, the  cup  of  Turkish  coffee  and  the  siesta,  the  process 
consumed  the  entire  afternoon.  It  is  bliss  to  those  who 
delight  in  being  rolled  up  like  a mummy  and  sitting  still. 
But  if  it  were  chasing  a star  that  danced,  if  it  were  riding 
on  a moonbeam,  if  it  were  dancing  with  the  daffodils,  — if 
it  were  anything  in  all  the  world  that  was  motion,  — then 
it  might  have  some  fairer  title  to  charm.  The  felicity  of 
lying  about  in  a state  of  inertia  is  in  the  nature  of  a mys- 
tery. And  one  questions,  too,  whether  the  spring  of  life 
is  not,  after  all,  within  rather  than  without.  Let  one 
take  care  of  his  mental  life  and  the  physical  will,  very 
largely  at  least,  keep  in  spring  and  tune  without  elabo- 
rate and  expensive  processes  of  propping  it  up.  To 
disport  one's  self  in  the  pool,  — there  is  a delight.  Who 
would  n't  be  a Rhine  maiden  under  the  midsummer  moon 
in  the  heart  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  ? 

In  nearly  all  the  canons  and  caves  of  this  surrounding 
region  are  found  traces  of  the  prehistoric  peoples  who 


THE  WALLS  OE  THE  CANON,  GRAND  RIVER 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  99 

inhabited  them.  Fragments  of  pottery,  in  artistic  design 
and  painted  in  bright  colors,  are  numerous  ; relics  similar 
to  those  found  in  the  cliff  houses  are  not  unfrequently 
chanced  upon  in  walks  and  excursions  and  the  stone  im- 
plements abbund.  The  ethnologist  finds  a great  field  for 
research  in  all  this  Glenwood  Springs  country.  There  are 
carriage  roads  terraced  along  the  base  of  the  mountains 
where  drives  from  five  to  twenty  miles  can  be  enjoyed  in 
the  deep  ravines  where  only  a glimpse  of  blue  sky  is  seen 
above,  and  the  saunterer  finds  a new  walk  every  day.  The 
mountains  branch  off  in  every  direction,  and  the  lofty 
peaks  silhouette  themselves  against  the  sky.  It  is  like  being 
whirled  up  into  the  air.  The  sensation  is  exhilarating  be- 
yond words.  If  people  could  take  “ cures  ” getting  up  into 
sublime  altitudes  like  this,  where  the  views  are  so  heavenly 
that  one  does  not  know  where  earth  ends  and  Paradise 
begins,  — that  would  be  a cure  worth  the  name.  Really, 
it  is  vitality  and  exhilaration  that  one  wants,  and  it  is  to 
be  found  in  the  air  far  more  than  in  any  other  element. 

“ ’T  is  life  whereof  our  nerves  are  scant ; 

’T  is  life,  not  death,  for  which  we  pant. 

More  life  and  fuller  that  I want.” 

The  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway  is  well  called 
“ the  scenic  line  of  the  world.”  From  Denver  to  Pueblo 
it  runs  almost  due  south,  across  a level  valley,  with  per- 
petually enchanting  views  of  the  mountains  and  curious 
rock  formations,  between  Denver  to  the  region  below 


100  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Colorado  Springs.  From  the  great  smelting  city  of 
Pueblo,  “the  Pittsburg  of  the  West,”  the  road  turns  west- 
ward, on  an  upward  grade,  till  it  reaches  Canon  City,  and 
from  there  to  Glenwood  Springs  this  road  is  a marvel  of 
'civil  engineering.  Up  the  narrow,  deep  canons  of  Grand 
River,  through  the  towering  granite  cliffs,  it  winds,  on  and 
up,  passing  Holy  Cross  Mountain,  offering  at  every  turn 
new  vistas  of  sublime  and  wonderful  beauty.  To  take 
a day’s  ride  through  such  scenery,  with  the  luxurious  com- 
fort of  the  most  modern  Pullman  cars,  and  a good  dining- 
car  constantly  with  the  train,  is  to  enjoy  a day  that  lives 
in  memory.  Not  the  least  of  the  attractions  of  Glenwood 
Springs  is  the  enchanting  route  by  means  of  which  one 
arrives  in  this  picturesque  region.  As  the  train  climbs  up 
to  plateau  after  plateau  in  the  mountains  the  scenes  are 
full  of  changeful  enchantment.  The  formation  is  interest- 
ing, — a deep  canon,  with  rock  cliffs  apparently  tower- 
ing into  the  sky,  and  then  the  emerging  on  a great  level 
plateau.  All  along  this  route,  too,  are  those  wonderful 
sandstone  formations  that  have  made  the  “ Garden  of  the 
Gods  ” so  marvellous  a place.  Between  Canon  City  and 
Glenwood  Springs  the  very  dance  of  the  Brocken  is  seen 
in  Sandstone  sculptures. 

Near  the  summit  of  Iron  Mountain,  which  is  in  the 
immediate  vicinity,  the  “ Fairy  Caves  ” rival  the  famous 
“ Blue  Grotto  ” of  Capri  in  attraction.  These  caves 
(less  than  a mile  from  the  Hotel  Colorado)  are  a most 


THE  FAIRY  CAVES,  COLORADO 


>4 


m r'.y,-- 

^i‘-' : - '■  - 


' ".'i  ' 


Kf 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  101 


intricate  and  wonderful  series  of  subterranean  caverns, 
grottos,  and  labyrinths,  with  translucent  stalactites  and 
stalagmites,  and  they  are  all  lighted  by  electricity,  — a 
great  improvement  on  the  sibyls’  cave,  where  the  sibylline 
leaves  were  read.  The  oracles  of  that  time  were  sadly 
lacking  in  conditions  of  modern  conveniences.  The  sibyl 
had  not  even  a telephone.  We  do  things  better  now,  and 
run  electric  cars  up  to  the  Pyramids.  Nor  did  the  sibyl  of 
old  have  a tunnel  two  hundred  feet  long,  by  which  her 
votaries  could  approach  the  scene  of  her  oracles ; but 
visitors  to  the  Fairy  Caves  may  pass  by  means  of  this 
tunnel  to  one  of  the  grandest  and  most  awful  precipices 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  they  step  out  upon  a 
balcony  of  stone  into  the  open  air,  with  a perpendicular 
wall  of  rock  one  hundred  feet  high,  above,  and  an  almost 
perpendicular  abyss,  down,  twelve  hundred  feet  below. 
Standing  on  this  balcony,  nothing  can  be  seen  behind 
but  sheer  perpendicular  ascent  and  descent  of  rock ; but 
in  front  and  far  below  may  be  seen  the  Grand  River, 
appearing  as  a brook,  winding  in  and  out  among  the 
projecting  mountains,  visible  here  like  burnished  silver, 
and  lost  there,  only  to  reappear  again  at  a point  far 
distant. 

• At  this  high  elevation  the  opening  of  the  canon  of  the 
Grand  is  seen  in  all  of  its  majesty,  — the  massive  moun- 
tains projecting  against  each  other  in  their  outlines,  and 
the  lofty  peaks  reaching  to  the  skies.  The  Denver  and 


102  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Rio  Grande  Railway  is  at  the  foot  of  the  canon,  — a mere 
winding  line,  as  seen  from  this  Titanic  height. 

The  Colorado  Midland  Road  also  runs  through  Glen- 
wood  Springs,  whose  phenomenal  hot  caves  and  luxu- 
rious and  elaborate  bathhouse  have  given  it  European 
fame.  The  twin  towers  of  the  hotel  remind  one  of 
Notre  Dame,  and  the  views  from  these  are  beautiful. 
The  design  is  after  the  Villa  Medici  in  Rome,  — the 
same  motive  repeated  for  the  central  motive  of  this 
superb  Hotel  Colorado  with  its  towers  and  Italian 
loggias  and  splendid  spacious  piazzas,  and  its  search- 
light from  one  of  the  towers,  illuminating  the  evening 
trains  that  pass  in  the  deep  canon  of  Grand  River. 
Here  is  a region  that  might  be  that  of  Sorrento  and 
Capri. 

In  Glenwood  Springs  the  traveller  may  meet  Mrs. 
Emma  Homan  Thayer,  the  author  of  “ Wild  Flowers 
in  Colorado,”  published  in  both  London  and  New  York. 
Mrs.  Thayer  was  a New  York  girl,  one  of  the  original 
founders  of  the  Art  League,  and  the  daughter  of  an 
enterprising  and  well-known  man.  She  is  an  artist  by 
nature  and  grace,  — sketches,  paints,  and  writes,  and 
in  both  painting  and  literature  she  has  made  a name  that 
is  recognized,  and  she  has  charmingly  perpetuated  in 
her  book  the  unique  and  wonderful  procession  of 
Colorado  wild  flowers. 

Lookout  Mountain,  rising  some  twenty-five  hundred 


MARSHALL  TASS  AND  MT.  OLRAV,  COLORADO 


iiV 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  103 


feet  above  the  town,  has  an  easy  trail  to  its  summit ; the 
driving  is  picturesque  and  safe  on  terraced  mountain 
roads  with  perpetual  vistas  of  beauty,  and  many  lakes 
in  the  vicinity  — Mountain,  Big  Fish,  Trappers’  Lake,  and 
others  — offer  excellent  fishing.  The  hotel  grounds  at 
night  are  transformed  into  a veritable  fairyland.  The 
fountains  shoot  their  jets  of  water  up  hundreds  of  feet 
into  the  air,  with  a play  of  color  from  electric  lights 
thrown  over  them  until  they  are  all  a changeful  irides- 
cent dream  of  rose  and  emerald  and  gold  mingled  with 
blue,  — the  very  rainbows  of  heaven  reproduced  in  mid- 
air. 

The  journey  up  the  “ scenic  route  ” has  one  point 
especially  — that  at  the  base  of  the  Holy  Cross  Moun- 
tain where  the  train  climbs  from  plateau  to  plateau  — 
that  enchants  the  imagination.  The  vast  mysterious 
canons  lie  far  below,  steeped  in  the  twilight  of  the  gods. 
The  air  shimmers  with  faint  hints  of  color.  Above,  the 
towering  granite  walls  seem  to  cut  their  way  into  the  sky. 
The  faint  plash  of  a thousand  waterfalls  echoes  from  the 
rocky  precipices,  and  the  faint  call  of  some  lonely  bird 
hovering  over  a pinnacle  is  heard.  The  mysterious  light, 
the  dim  coolness  and  fragrance,  the  glimpses  of  blue 
sky  seen  through  the  narrow  openings  of  the  canons 
above  all,  combine  to  produce  that  enchantment  — the 
“ Encantada,”  — that  Vasquez  de  Coronado  felt  when 
he  first  beheld  this  marvellous  country. 


104  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

Emerson  asserts  that  life  is  a search  after  power,  — 

“ Merlin’s  blows  are  strokes  of  fate.” 

It  is  apparently  a twentieth-century  Merlin  who  has 
dreamed  a dream  of  wresting  electricity  from  the  moun- 
tain currents  to  utilize  as  power  to  create  a new  field  for 
industrial  energy.  The  electrical  engineer,  who  is  the 
magician  of  contemporary  life,  demonstrates  that  not  the 
volume  of  a stream,  but  rather  its  “ fall,”  is  the  measure  of 
its  possibilities  of  power,  and  no  country  is  so  rich  in  water 
that  comes  tumbling  down  from  the  heights  as  is  Colo- 
rado. The  wild  streams  that  precipitate  themselves  down 
the  mountain-sides  are  as  valuable  as  are  the  veins  of 
gold  that  permeate  the  mountain.  Science  has  now  taken 
them  in  hand,  and  will  not  longer  permit  these  torrents 
and  waterfalls  to  run  to  waste  or  to  display  themselves  ex- 
clusively as  decorative  features  of  the  mountain  landscapes. 
The  General  Electric  Company  is  utilizing  these  falling 
waters,  and  is  already  achieving  results  with  their  trans- 
formation into  power  which  are  beyond  the  dreams  of 
imagination.  The  Silver  Cascade,  which  for  ages  has  had 
nothing  to  do  but  leap  and  flash  under  the  shimmering 
gold  of  the  Colorado  sunshine,  suddenly  undergoes 

“ a sea  change 

Into  something  new  and  strange.  ” 

It  becomes  an  important  factor  in  the  world’s  work.  For 
instance,  in  lovely  Manitou,  — the  little  town  that  dreams 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  105 


at  the  foot  of  Pike’s  Peak  and  which  seems  made  only  for 
stars  and  sunsets  and  as  the  stage  setting  of  idyllic  experi- 
ences, — in  lovely  Manitou  an  hydro-electric  plant  has 
been  for  more  than  a year  in  successful  operation  ; and  an 
opportunity  is  thereby  afforded  the  interested  observer  to 
see  the  practical  working  of  an  enterprise  that  draws  its 
energy  directly  from  nature’s  sources.  The  power  is  ob- 
tained from  water  that  is  stored  in  a reservoir  situated  far 
up  on  the  side  of  the  peak.  Three  and  one-half  miles  of 
pipe  were  used  to  carry  the  water  from  the  reservoir  to  the 
plant.  The  water  has  a fall  of  twenty -three  hundred  feet, 
which  is  much  more  than  is  needed  to  turn  the  giant 
wheels  that  furnish  the  power  to  be  distributed  to  Colo- 
rado Springs,  Colorado  City,  and  the  surrounding  country. 
The  mills  at  Colorado  City  use  this  power  exclusively, 
and  the  cheapness  at  which  it  can  be  furnished  is  a potent 
factor  in  making  for  the  success  of  their  operation. 

At  Durango  the  Animas  Power  and  Water  Company 
has  installed  a plant  for  hydro-electric  energy  which  will 
furnish  power  to  the  entire  San  Juan  county.  The  plant 
comprises  two  three-thousand  horse-power  current  genera- 
tors and  the  station  appliances  that  correspond  with  these ; 
and  from  this  plant  extend  fifty-thousand  volt  circuits  to  all 
the  large  mines  near  Ouray,  Silverton,  and  Telluride.  The 
“ Camp  Bird,”  the  ‘‘  Gold  King,”  the  “ Silver  Lake,”  the 
“ Gold  Prince,”  and  the  “ Revenue  Tunnel  ” mines  all  draw 
from  this  plant  for  their  entire  milling  and  mining  work. 


106  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


To  harness  the  cascatles,  which  for  ages  have  known 
no  sterner  duty  than  to  sparkle  and  frolic  in  the  sunshine, 
to  force  the  water  sprites  and  nixies  to  perform  the  work 
of  thousands  of  horse-power,  is  the  achievement  of  the 
modern  Merlin. 

The  Platte  River  Power  and  Irrigation  Company  are 
about  to  establish  two  electrical  power  enterprises  most 
important  to  Denver,  one  of  which  is  to  supply  all  the 
power  that  is  necessary  to  turn  every  wheel  now  in  motion 
in  the  city,  and  the  second  is  to  secure  electric  power  from 
the  water  that  is  stored  in  the  Cheesman  dam  and  transmit 
it  to  Denver.  Responsible  men  are  working  for  the  success 
of  the  enterprises,  and  it  is  anticipated  that  Denver  will 
soon  enjoy  the  advantage  of  power  furnished  at  a minimum 
of  cost. 

The  Denver  inter-urban  service  for  transportation  will 
be  carried  on  entirely  by  electricity  within  the  near  future. 
All  the  railroads  that  centre  in  this  City  Beautiful  are 
preparing  estimates  and  making  ready  to  conduct  experi- 
ments. The  recent  tests  in  the  East  of  electrically  driven 
locomotives  indicate  that  Colorado,  with  Denver  as  a 
centre,  will  one  day  be  a network  of  electric  lines  travers- 
ing productive  regions  and  connecting  all  the  prosperous 
towns  of  the  state  by  this  most  ideal  form  of  transit. 

In  Colorado  it  is  one  of  the  unwritten  laws  — a law 
from  which  there  is  no  appeal  — that  nothing  which  is 
desirable  is  impossible.  This  is  one  of  the  spiritual  laws. 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  107 


indeed,  and  he  who  holds  it  as  an  axiom  shall  perpetually 
realize  its  force  and  its  eternal  truth.  The  entire  physical 
world  is  plastic  to  the  world  of  spirit.  In  that  realm 
alone  realities  exist.  For  “ the  things  which  are  seen  are 
temporal ; but  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal.” 
The  faith  that  stands  — not  “ in  the  wisdom  of  man, 
but  in  the  power  of  God  ” — is  that  which  shall  be  justi- 
fied by  the  most  profound  actuality.  It  is  that  hidden 
wisdom  “ which  God  ordained  before  the  world  unto  our 
glory.”  Science  has  already  discerned  the  connection  be- 
tween organic  form  and  super-space ; and  speculations 
already  begin  to  emerge  from  the  dim  and  vague  region  of 
conjecture  into  hypothesis  and  theory  out  of  which  are 
developed  new  working  laws  of  the  universe  which  are  as 
undeniable  as  is  that  of  the  law  of  gravitation. 

In  harmonious  accordance,  then,  with  that  unwritten 
law  of  Colorado  that  nothing  which  is  desirable  is  impos- 
sible, it  was  realized  that  the  Gunnison  River,  a powerful 
stream  thirty  miles  east  of  the  Uncompahgre,  afforded  an 
abundance  of  water  to  reclaim  these  desert  wastes  to  the 
traditional  blossoming  of  the  rose.  The  Gunnison  River, 
however,  flows  through  a box  canon  three  thousand  feet 
deep.  Were  it  at  the  bottom  of  a gorge  three  thousand 
miles  deep,  that  fact  would  hardly  daunt  the  Colorado  spirit. 
Immediately  some  invention,  incomprehensible  to  the  pres- 
ent mind  of  man,  would  be  made  by  which  the  desirable  issue 
should  be  achieved.  As  has  been  remarked,  failure  is  a 


108  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


word  not  included  in  the  vocabulary  of  Colorado.  That 
state  has  a “ revised  version  ” of  its  own  for  the  resources 
of  its  language,  laws,  and  literature.  Its  keynote  is  the 
invincible.  Ways  and  means  are  mere  matters  of  minor 
detail.  If  an  achievement  is  desirable,  it  is  to  be  accom- 
plished, of  course.  It  is  not  even  a question  for  discussion. 
There  is  no  margin  of  debatable  land  in  the  realization  of 
every  conceivable  opportunity. 

A stupendous  work  in  development  is  that  of  this  Gun- 
nison Tunnel  under  the  Vernal  Mesa  to  Uncompahgre 
Valley,  — a desert  waste  whose  area  comprises  some  one 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  sand,  sagebrush,  and  stones. 
Yet  even  here  irrigation  worked  its  spell,  and  while  the 
Uncompahgre  River  held  out  a water  supply,  the  land 
reached  proved  fertile  bejond  expectation.  But  the 
Uncompahgre  had  its  far  too  definite  and  restricted  limits  ; 
no  other  water  supply  was  available  for  this  region,  and 
there  lay  the  land  — a tract  of  potential  wealth,  but 
destined  to  remain,  so  far  as  could  be  seen,  an  unpro- 
ductive and  cumbersome  desert  region  unless  inlgation 
could  be  achieved. 

To  the  constructing  engineer  of  the  reclamation  service 
there  came  a telegram  from  the  chief  engineer  in  Wash- 
ington asking  if  it  were  feasible  to  divert  the  waters  of 
Gunnison  River  to  Uncompahgre  Valley  by  means  of 
a tunnel  under  Vernal  Mesa  ? This  implied  building  a 
tunnel  from  a point  totally  unknown.  No  one  had  ever 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  109 

succeeded  in  passing  through  Gunnison  Canon.  But  the 
past  tense  does  “not  count,”  any  more  than  Rip  Van 
Winkle‘*s  last  glass,  in  any  estimate  of  the  present  in 
Colorado.  Professor  Fellows,  an  engineer  of  Denver, 
selected  his  assistant;  they  prepared  their  instruments, 

I their  provisions,  and  their  inflated  rubber  mattress,  and 
set  forth  on  this  expedition  in  which  their  lives  were  in 
constant  peril ; in  which  hardships  beyond  description 
were  endured.  The  topographic  map,  for  instance,  was 
made  by  Mr.  Fellows  in  the  delightful  position  of  being 
lowered  with  ropes  into  the  deep  canon  where,  should  the 
slightest  accident  occur,  he  would  never  return  to  the  day 
and  daylight  world  again.  The  establishment  of  precise 
levels  for  both  ends  of  the  tunnel,  one  of  which  must,  of 
course,  be  lower  than  the  other  to  induce  a flow  of  water, 
was  another  matter  requiring  a delicacy  of  adjustment 
beyond  description.  Of  their  wonderful  and  even  tragic 
j experiences  a local  report  sajs  : “ It  all  ended  by  Fellows 

I and  his  companion  saving  two  things,  — their  lives  and 

I I their  notebooks.  Everything  else  went  down  with  the 
! j flood.  When  the  men  emerged  at  the  Devil’s  Slide,  weary, 

I bruised,  and  bleeding,  friends  who  had  been  waiting  to  pick 
! up  their  mangled  bodies  hailed  them  as  if  they  had  re- 
j turned  from  the  dead.” 

I Of  all  this  story  there  was  no  hint  in  the  cheerfully 
I laconic  telegram  despatched  to  Washington,  — “ Complete 
I surveys  for  construction.”  The  tunnel  will  be  five  or  six 


no  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


miles  in  length,  of  which  over  two  miles  are  already  com- 
pleted. The  work  proceeds  night  and  day  with  the  drills 
like  mighty  giants  eating  their  way  through  the  solid  granite 
of  the  Vernal  Mesa  that  lies  between  the  two  rivers.  This 
desert  region  which  will  thus  be  reclaimed  comprises  por- 
tions of  three  counties,  — Ouray,  Montrose,  and  Delta, — the 
region  being  at  an  altitude  of  five  thousand  feet.  It  easily 
produces  fruit,  alfalfa,  and  grain,  and  it  is  also  well  adapted 
to  the  culture  of  potatoes,  celery,  and  the  sugar  beet.  The 
land  when  irrigated  is  estimated  to  be  worth  five  hundred 
dollars  per  acre.  The  tunnel  will  have  a capacity  for  con- 
veying thirteen  thousand  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second, 
and  there  will  be  connected  with  it  an  elaborate  system  of 
lesser  canals  and  ditches  that  will  carry  the  water  all  over 
this  desert  tract.  It  is  estimated  that  this  enterprise  will 
add  thousands  of  homes  to  the  valley  of  the  Uncompahgre, 
and  that  it  will  increase  by  at  least  ten  millions  the  taxa- 
ble property  of  Colorado.  The  cost  of  the  Gunnison 
Tunnel  will  be  some  two  and  a half  millions. 

Uncompahgre  Valley,  lying  between  the  Continental 
Divide  on  the  east,  and  the  Utah  Desert  on  the  west, 
comprises  the  greatest  extent  of  irrigable  land  west  of 
Pueblo  in  the  entire  state ; but  the  need  for  irrigation 
and  the  possibilities  of  supplying  that  need  were  so  widely 
apart  that  even  Merlin  the  Enchanter  recognized  the 

difficulty,  though  by  no  means  defining  it  as  an  impossi- 

■0 

bility.  The  Uncompahgre  River  was  soon  exhausted,  and 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  III 


only  this  apparently  impracticable  scheme,  now  happily 
realized,  offered  any  solution  of  the  problem.  Hon.  Meade 
Hammond  of  the  state  legislature  of  Colorado  secured  the 
appropriation  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to  meet  the 
expenses  of  surveying  and  preliminary  work.  Hon.  John 
C.  Bell,  the  representative  for  that  district  in  Congress, 
gave  untiring  devotion  to  the  project,  and  to  his  efforts 
was  due  the  zeal  with  which  the  reclamation  service  took 
up  this  vast  work ; and  when  Professor  Fellows  was  ap- 
pointed as  the  government  district  engineer  its  success 
became  the  object  of  his  supreme  interest  and  unremit- 
ting energy,  and  its  achievement  adds  another  to  the 
remarkable  engineering  works  of  Colorado. 

In  this  Land  of  Enchantment  almost  anything  is  possi- 
ble, even  to  yachting,  — a pastime  that  would  not  at  first 
present  itself  as  one  to  be  included  among  the  entertain- 
ments of  an  arid  state  which  has  to  set  its  own  legislative 
machinery  and  that  of  Congress  in  motion  in  order  to 
contrive  a water  supply  for  even  its  agricultural  service ; 
nevertheless,  on  a lake  in  the  mountains,  more  than  a mile 
and  a half  above  sea  level  and  some  one  hundred  miles  from 
Denver  the  Beautiful,  a yacht  club  disports  itself  with  all 
the  airy  grace  and  assurance  of  its  ground  — one  means  of 
its  water  — that  distinguishes  the  delightful  Yacht  Club 
at  old  Marblehead  on  the  Atlantic  Coast.  There  was, 
however,  no  government  appropriation  made  to  create  this 
lake,  as  might  at  first  be  supposed,  nor  any  experts  sent  out 


112  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


commissioned  to  prepare  the  way.  There  are  numerous 
forms  of  summer-day  entertainments  that  are  more  or  less 
in  evidence  in  the  inland  states  ; but  yachting  has  never 
been  supposed  to  be  among  them,  as  preconceived  ideas  of 
this  joy  have  invariably  associated  it  with  oceans  and  seas. 
Still,  it  must  be  remembered  that  Colorado  is  an  excep- 
tional region  in  the  universe,  and  creates,  not  follows, 
precedents.  It  is  the  state,  as  has  before  been  remarked,  to 
which  nothing  conceivable  is  impossible. 

Grand  Lake  is  in  Middle  Park,  sixty  miles  from  the 
nearest  railroad  station.  (With  the  incredible  celerity 
with  which  life  progresses  in  the  Centennial  State,  of 
course  by  the  time  this  description  is  materialized  in 
print  Grand  Lake  may  have  become  a railroad  centre  — 
who  shall  say  ? It  is  not  safe  to  limit  prophecy  in  Colo- 
rado.) At  present,  however,  a railroad  journey  of  forty 
miles  from  Denver,  supplemented  by  sixty  miles  of  stage, 
brings  one  to  the  lake,  a beautiful  sheet  of  water  two 
miles  in  length  and  more  than  a mile  in  width,  whose 
water  is  icy  cold.  The  locality  has  become  something  of 
a summer  resort  for  many  Denver  people,  and  also,  to  some 
extent,  to  those  from  Chicago  and  Kansas  City,  and  a 
group  of  cottages  have  sprung  up.  Some  seven  years  ago 
the  Grand  Lake  Yacht  Club  was  duly  organized,  with  Mr. 
R.  C.  Campbell,  a son-in-law  of  Senator  Patterson  of  Col- 
orado, Mr.  W.  H.  Bryant,  a prominent  citizen  of  Denver 
the  Beautiful,  Major  Lafayette  Campbell,  and  other  well- 


i 


GLENWOOD  SPRINGS,  COLORADO 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  118 


known  men,  as  its  officers.  The  club  has  now  a fleet  of 
yachts  ; it  has  its  regatta  week,  and  altogether  holds  its 
own  among  nautical  associations ; it  takes  itself  seriously, 
in  fact  with  what  Henry  James  calls  the  “ deadly  earnest- 
ness of  the  Bostonians,”  which  is  paralleled  by  this  inland 
and  arid-land  yachting  club. 

Besides  the  joys  of  yachting  in  an  arid  state  where  that 
nautical  pastime  is  apparently  carried  on  in  mid  air,  is  the 
local  diversion  of  climbing  mountain  peaks  that  are  pro- 
nounced impossible  of  ascension.  This  is  one  of  the  favorite 
entertainments  of  Colorado  young  women,  who  have  con- 
quered Long’s,  Gray’s,  Pike’s,  and  Torrey’s  peaks.  Mount 
Massive,  the  “ Devil’s  Causeway,”  and  various  lesser  heights, 
which  they  scale  with  the  characteristically  invincible  energy 
of  their  state.  The  summit  of  Mount  Massive  is  fourteen 
thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  sea  level,  and  of  one  of 
these  expeditions  a Denver  journal  says  of  this  party  of 
several  ladies  and  gentlemen  : 

Camp  was  struck  at  Lamb’s  ranch,  where,  in  the  early 
morning,  the  wagon  was  left  with  all  the  outfit  not  absolutely 
necessary.  The  trail  sloped  steadily  to  the  boulder  field, 
where  the  party  stopped  for  lunch.  They  were  now  at  an 
altitude  of  twelve  thousand  feet.  A cold  wind  swept  across 
the  range  and  chilled  them,  so  that  the  climb  was  soon 
renewed. 

The  boulder  field  is  two  miles  long  and  seemed  five,  for 
walking  over  the  great  stones  is  a wearisome  business.  At  the 


114  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


end  of  the  boulder  field,  which  is  much  like  the  terminal 
range  of  an  old  glacier,  is  a great  snowbank.  From  a long 
distance  the  mountain  climbers  saw  the  keyhole,  — a deep 
notch  of  overjutting  rock  through  which  goes  the  only  trail 
to  the  summit  of  Long’s.  It  is  a gigantic  cornice  to  a ridge 
that  extends  north  from  the  main  cone. 

After  passing  the  keyhole,  which  had  loomed  up  before 
them  through  weary  miles  of  tramping,  a'  great  panorama  of 
mountains  stretched  before  them.  . . . There  was  a precipi- 
tous slope  of  rocks  jammed  together  in  a gulch.  This  rises 
for  about  seven  hundred  feet,  every  inch  stiff  climbing. 

^^The  danger  at  this  point  was  that  some  climbers  might 
dislodge  rocks  which  would  come  bounding  down  on  the 
heads  of  those  in  the  rear.  For  this  reason  the  orders  of  the 
leader  were  urgent  that  the  party  should  not  get  separated. 
The  trail  at  this  point  led  up  the  sharply  sloping  eaves  of  the 
mountain  roof,  from  which  the  climber  might  drop  a dizzy 
distance  to  the  depths  below.  Clinging  to  the  rocks  and 
hanging  on  by  hands  or  feet,  the  party  pushed  up  to  a ledge 
from  which  they  looked  over  an  abyss  several  thousand  feet 
sheer  down.” 

In  Southern  Colorado  the  cliff-dwellers’  region  offers 
some  of  the  most  remarkable  ruins  in  America,  and  their 
preservation  in  a government  reservation,  to  be  known  as 
the  Mesa  Verde  National  Park,  has  been  assured  by  a bill 
that  has  been  recently  passed  by  Congress  and  which  is 
one  of  the  eminent  features  of  latter-day  legislation.  It 
is  Representative  Hogg  who  introduced  this  bill  providing 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  115 


for  the  permanent  protection  of  those  cliff-dweller  ruins 
which,  with  those  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  constitute 
some  of  the  most  valuable  and  interesting  prehistoric  re- 
mains in  the  United  States.  Already  much  of  this  archae- 
ological treasure  of  inestimable  scientific  value  has  been 
carried  away  by  visitors,  while,  instead  of  permitting  this 
region  to  be  thus  despoiled,  it  should  be  made  easily 
accessible  to  tourists  and  held  as  one  of  the  grand  show 
places  of  the  great  Southwest.  Like  the  Grand  Canon 
and  the  Petrified  Forests  of  Arizona,  like  the  Pike’s  Peak 
region  in  Colorado,  Mesa  Verde  would  become  an  objective 
point  of  pilgrimage  to  thousands  of  summer  tourists.  In 
the  winter  of  1904-5  Representative  Lacey,  of  Iowa,  the 
eminent  chairman  of  the  House  Committee  on  Public 
Lands,  made  in  behalf  of  his  committee  a favorable  report 
on  the  Colorado  Cliff-dwellers’  Bill,  presenting,  with  his 
characteristic  eloquence  of  argument,  the  truth  that  the 
permanent  preservation  of  these  wonderful  and  almost 
prehistoric  ruins  is  greatly  to  be  desired  by  the  people  of 
the  Southwest,  as  well  as  by  those  interested  in  archaeology 
elsewhere.  “The  ruins  are  situated  among  rocky  cliffs, 
and  may  be  easily  preserved  if  protected,”  said  Mr.  Lacey, 
and  added : 

^^With  the  exception  of  two  ot  three  small,  fallen,  and 
totally  uninteresting  ones,  all  the  ruins  of  the  Mesa  Verde 
are  in  the  Southern  Ute  Indian  Reservation.  It  is  an  ex- 
tremely arid  region,  and  little  or  no  agriculture  is  practised 


116  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


by  the  Utes,  although  they  range  sheep,  goats,  cattle,  and 
ponies  on  the  mesa  and  in  the  canons.  It  is  a poor  range  at 
best,  and  the  Indians  appear  to  need  all  they  can  get.  More- 
over, the  reclamation  service  has  made  some  estimates  re- 
garding storage  reservoirs  in  the  upper  Mancos,  and  it  may 
be  at  some  future  time  a part  of  this  land  in  the  reservation 
will  be  irrigable  and  greatly  increased  in  value.  The  Utes 
are  not  going  to  destroy  these  ruins  or  dig  in  them.  They 
stand  in  superstitious  awe  of  them,  believing  them  to  be 
inhabited  by  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  and  cannot  be  induced 
to  go  near  them.” 

These  dwellings  are  excavated  in  cliffs  from  five  to  nine 
hundred  feet  above  the  plateaus.  Of  these,  two  dwellings 
stand  out  prominently,  — the  “ Spruce  Tree  House  ” and 
the  “ Balcony  House,”  the  former  of  which  contains  a 
hundred  and  thirty  rooms,  of  each  of  which  the  average 
measurement  is  about  eight  by  six  feet.  Much  pottery, 
weapons,  armament,  and  many  skeletons  and  mummies  are 
found  in  these  dwellings. 

The  later  conclusions  of  scientists  are  that  these  cliff- 
houses  were  designed  as  places  of  refuge  and  defence  rather 
than  as  ordinary  habitations.  The  parallelogram  and 
circle  forms  predominate,  and  they  are  often  forty  feet  in 
diameter.  There  are  sometimes  double,  or  even  triple 
walls,  solidly  built  of  hewn  stone,  with  a circular  depres- 
sion (council-chamber)  in  the  centre. 

Pueblo  is  the  metropolis  of  Southern  Colorado.  It  is 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  117 


the  second  city  in  the  state,  ranking  next  to  Denver.  It 
is  an  important  industrial  centre,  being  the  location  of 
the  great  steel  works  of  the  Colorado  Fuel  and  Iron  Com- 
pany, and  two  large  smelting  plants  in  constant  activity. 
It  is  a town  with  unusual  possibilities  of  beauty,  ram- 
bling, as  it  does,  over  the  rolling  mesas  with  a series  of 
enchanting  vistas  and  mountain  views  of  great  beauty. 
The  Spanish  Peaks  are  in  full  sight  from  the  new  residence 
region  of  Pueblo,  and  here  is  the  home  of  ex-Governor 
and  Mrs.  Alva  Adams,  with  its  spacious,  book-lined 
rooms ; its  choice  and  finely  selected  souvenirs  of  foreign 
travel ; its  music  and  pictures ; and  far  above  all,  the 
gracious  sweetness  and  charm  of  Mrs.  Adams,  who  has 
that  most  perfect  of  gifts  — that  of  transforming  a house- 
hold into  a home.  Governor  Adams,  although  in  his 
modesty  he  would  deprecate  the  distinction,  is  easily  the 
first  citizen  of  Colorado.  Twice  the  Governor  of  the  state, 
he  has  impressed  the  entire  people  with  his  flawless  integ- 
rity of  character,  his  noble  ideals,  and  his  energy  of  execu- 
tive power  in  securing  and  enforcing  the  best  measures 
for  the  people  and  carrying  onward  into  practical  life  the 
highest  moral  and  educational  standards. 

Governor  Adams  is  always  greatly  in  demand  as  a 
speaker,  and  in  September  of  1906  he  was  again  nomi- 
nated for  Governor  of  the  state. 

Colorado,  quite  irrespective  of  party,  is  all  aglow 
with  the  name  of  Alva  Adams.  Good  Republicans  have 


118  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


long  been  greatly  perplexed  over  the  fact  that  the  man 
they  most  desire  to  vote  for,  the  man  to  whose  guidance 
they  would  most  willingly  commit  the  affairs  of  state, 
is  a Democrat.  The  ability,  the  unquestioned  integ- 
rity, the  fidelity  to  lofty  ideals,  and  the  great  admin- 
istrative power  of  Governor  Adams  inspire  the  almost 
universal  enthusiasm  of  Colorado  iiTespective  of  party 
lines. 

No  son  of  the  Centennial  State  is  more  in  sympathy 
with  its  individual  problems.  Born  in  Wisconsin  (some 
fifty-five  years  ago).  Governor  Adams  was  about  to  enter 
the  Ann  Arbor  Law  School  when  the  illness  of  a brother 
brought  him  in  his  earliest  youth  to  Colorado.  Its 
beauty,  its  rich  possibilities,  enchanted  him.  Here  he 
married  a very  cultivated  and  beautiful  young  woman, 
whose  parents  came  in  her  early  girlhood  to  Colorado, 
and  whose  sympathetic  and  perfect  companionship  has 
been  the  unfailing  source  of  his  noblest  inspiration. 

In  an  address  on  “ Pathfinders  and  Pioneers,”  given 
before  an  irrigation  congress  at  Colorado  Springs,  we  find 
Governor  Adams  saying: 

What  a sublime  moment  when  the  explorer  realizes  the 
fruition  of  his  dream ! What  fateful  hours  upon  the  dial  of 
human  progress  when  Columbus  saw  a new  world  emerge 
from  the  sea,  when  Balboa  stood  ^silent  upon  a peak  in 
Darien,’  when  Lewis  and  Clark  upon  the  continent’s  crest 
saw  the  waters  of  the  rivulet  run  toward  the  West ! Such 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  119 


events  compensate  great  souls,  and  their  spirits  defy  hardship, 
ingratitude,  chains,  dungeons,  and  the  axe.  The  curtain  has 
been  run  down  upon  the  careers  of  those  brave  men  whose 
praise  we  sing.  Their  race  is  run.  The  explorer,  priest, 
trapper,  and  pioneer  have  vanished. 

“ ‘ Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way  ; 

The  four  first  acts  already  past,* 

A fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day  ; 

Time’s  noblest  offspring  is  the  last.  ’ 

Would  it  be  a daring  assumption  to  consider  the  irrigated 
regions  of  America  as  the  arena  in  which  the  fifth  act,  time’s 
noblest  offspring,  is  to  perfect  and  complete  the  drama  of 
civilization  ? 

Irrigated  lands  were  the  cradle  of  the  race.  The  first 
canals  were  run  from  the  four  rivers  of  Paradise.  May  not 
the  fruition  of  mankind  seek  the  same  conditions  amid  which 
it  was  born  } Providence  has  kept  fallow  this  new  land  until 
man  was  fitted  to  enter  and  possess  it. 

“ ‘Hid  in  the  West  through  centuries, 

TiU  men,  through  countless  tyrannies,  could  understand 
The  priceless  worth  of  freedom.’  ” 

“ I would  not  decry  culture  and  refinement,”  said  ex- 
Governor  Adams  in  this  address  ; “ they  are  the  charm 
and  beauty  of  modern  life,  the  music  and  art  of  the  social 
commerce  of  the  age  ; but  in  their  acquirement  I would 
not  give  up  the  robust,  vigorous,  daring  qualities  of  the 
pioneer.” 


120  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


The  Governor  proceeded : 

^‘^They  had  blood  and  iron  in  their  heart,  they  had  the 
nerve  to  dare,  the  strength  to  do.  I do  not  believe  in  battle 
for  battle’s  sake ; but  I never  want  to  see  our  people  when 
they  are  not  willing  to  fight,  and  able  to  fight.  The  only 
guarantee  of  peace  and  liberty  is  the  ability  and  willing- 
ness to  do  battle  for  your  rights.  Refinement  alone  is  not 
strength,  culture  alone  is  not  virtue.  Absalom,  Alcibiades, 
and  Burr  stand  in  history  as  the  most  polished,  cultured  men 
of  three  ages,  yet  they  were  more  a menace  than  a brace  to 
the  liberties  of  their  time.  In  stress,  the  world  calls  upon 
the  Calvins,  the  Cromwells,  the  Jacksons,  Browns,  and  Lin- 
colns. They  were  stalwart,  strenuous,  courageous  men  ; not 
cultured  and  refined,  but  rich  in  royalty  and  daring.  It  is 
the  rugged  and  the  strong,  and  not  the  gentle  and  the  wise, 
who  gather  in  their  hands  the  reins  of  fate  and  plough  deep 
fun’ows  in  the  fields  of  human  events.  It  is  they  who  have 
driven  the  car  of  progress  and  have  woven  the  deepest  colors 
in  the  fabric  of  human  happiness.  It  is  true  that  some  of  our 
Western  torch-bearers  were  not  perfect ; none  of  them  were 
ever  anointed  with  the  oil  of  consecration ; around  them 
surged  the  temptations  of  a wild  and  boisterous  age ; through 
their  hearts  and  souls  there  swept  the  impulses  and  passions 
of  the  strong ; if  they  sinned,  it  was  against  themselves,  not 
their  country.  Let  their  frailties  be  forgotten,  and  their 
good  cherished.  Often  rough  and  defiant  of  the  convention- 
alities, they  were  ever  true  and  loyal,  and  most  of  these  em- 
pire builders  can  stand  before  the  great  white  throne  with 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  121 


open  hearts.  They  were  the  architects,  the  Hiram  Abifs  of 
these  Western  empires.  They  laid  the  foundations  in  courage 
and  liberty.” 

Let  no  one  fancy  that  Pueblo  is  a primitive  Western 
city  devoid  of  electricity,  telephones,  motor  cars,  or  even 
Marconigrams.  Let  no  one  fancy  it  is  too  far  from  Paris 
to  have  the  latest  French  fashions.  It  is  hardly  an  ex- 
aggeration to  say  that  it  demands  the  best  and  the  most 
up-to-date  ideas  of  the  Eastern  cities  to  be  at  all  eligible  in 
these  Colorado  towns.  Pueblo  has  a most  delightful  club- 
house on  the  edge  of  a lake  — the  lake  is  artificially  created, 
and  being  made  to  order,  is,  of  course,  exactly  the  kind  of 
lake  that  is  desired,  the  water  being  conducted  from  the 
mountains  into  a large  natural  depression  — where  great 
open  fires  in  every  room  greet  the  daily  visitor;  where 
there  are  large  reading-rooms,  a dining-room,  and  a ball- 
room ; no  intoxicating  beverages  of  any  kind  are  allowed 
to  be  sold,  so  that  youths  and  maidens  may  at  any  time 
enjoy  the  club  with  no  insidious  dangers  to  their  moral 
welfare. 

There  are  many  centres  of  social  life ; and  if  Pueblo 
people  have  any  other  conceivable  occupation  than  to  give 
dinner  parties  at  night  and  go  motoring  in  the  morn- 
ing, with  endless  receptions  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
Revolution  and  other  clubs,  organizations,  or  purely  pri- 
vate card  receptions  invading  the  afternoons,  the  visitor 
hardly  realizes  it.  The  dinners  given  are  often  as  elabo- 


I 


122  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

rate  as  in  the  large  Eastern  cities,  as  one,  for  instance, 
given  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mahlon  D.  Thatcher  at  their  stately 
home  “ Hillcrest,”  where  the  decorations  were  all  in  rich  >! 

rose  red,  a most  brilliant  effect,  and  the  souvenirs  were  j 

India  ink  reproductions  of  old  castles  on  white  satin.  j 

The  dinner  cards  held  each  a quotation  from  the  poets.  j 

Pueblo  is  always  all  sunshine  and  radiance,  and  has  a j 

beauty  of  location  that  makes  it  notable,  with  its  encir-  j 

cling  blue  mountains  and  picturesque  mesas,  and  the  per- 
petual benediction  of  the  Spanish  Peaks  silhouetted  against 
the  western  sky.  Its  new  library  is  the  pride  and  delight  i 

of  every  citizen.  It  is  one  of  the  Carnegie  chain,  — a j 

large,  two-story  and  basement  structure  of  white  Color^o  j 

stone,  the  interior  finished  with  the  richly  variegated  j 

Colorado  marble  which  is  used  for  mantels  and  fireplaces.  a 

The  book  stacks,  the  spacious  and  splendid  reading-room,  ] 

the  children‘*s  room,  and  the  smaller  ones  for  reference  and  <j 

special  study,  are  all  planned  on  the  latest  and  most  j 

perfect  models.  | 

The  library  is  in  the  Royal  Park,  on  the  crest  of  one  of  ' 
the  mesas,  very  near  the  home  of  Governor  Adams.  It  is 
a library  to  delight  the  heart  of  the  book-lover.  Pueblo  ; 

offers,  indeed,  great  attractions  to  all  who  incline  to  this 
land  of  sunshine.  The  climate  is  even  more  mild  than 
that  of  Denver,  from  which  city  it  is  a little  over  three 
hours  distant  by  the  fast  trains,  or  four  hours  by  slower 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  123 


ones.  Colorado  Springs  lies  between  — two  hours  from 
Denver  and  a little  over  one  hour  from  Pueblo.  The  loca- 
tion combines  many  attractions.  With  three  railroads ; 
its  large  industries  in  smelting  and  steel;  its  excellent 
schools,  both  public  and  private ; its  churches,  its  daily 
newspapers  ; its  library ; and  its  fine  clubhouse,  open  to 
families,  — women  and  children  as  well  as  men  enjoying  it 
freely,  — Pueblo  seems  one  of  the  most  delightful  of  places. 
It  has  large  wealth  and  a power  of  initiating  many  oppor- 
tunities. It  is  on  the  most  picturesque  and  delightful 
lines  of  travel  to  Canon  City,  Salida,  Leadville,  Glen- 
wood  Springs,  and  through  Salt  Lake  City  to  the  Pacific 
Coast ; or  on  the  line  to  Arizona  and  the  Grand  Canon 
of  the  Colorado,  and  on  to  Los  Angeles  and  San  Fran- 
cisco ; or  eastward  to  Chicago  and  the  Atlantic  Coast ; or 
southward  to  Mexico,  or  St.  Louis,  or  New  Orleans. 
Pueblo  is  really  in  the  heart  of  things,  so  to  speak.  The 
Chicago  papers  arrive  the  next  day,  the  New  York  papers 
the  third  morning,  and  the  telephonic  communication  is 
simply  almost  without  limit.  Governor  Adams  will  step 
from  his  library  into  another  book-lined  room  where  the 
telephone  is  placed,  and  from  there  talk  with  people  in 
five  different  states.  Once  he  held  a conversation  with  a 
man  at  the  bottom  of  a mine  a few  hundred  miles  away, 
— a man  whose  subterranean  sojourn  had  the  alleviation 
of  a telephone. 

The  greatest  industrial  organization  west  of  the  Missis- 


124  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


sippi  River  is  that  of  the  Colorado  Fuel  and  Iron  Company, 
whose  largest  plant  is  at  Pueblo,  and  is  held  at  a valuation 
of  fifty-eight  million  dollars.  On  its  pay-roll  are  fifteen 
thousand  employes.  There  are  twenty  thousand  tons  of 
steel  rail  produced  each  month,  and  it  is  said  that  this 
number  will  soon  be  largely  increased,  and  that  the 
Goulds  and  the  Rockefellers  are  arranging  to  utilize  the 
product  of  these  mills  for  their  vast  railroad  interests. 
The  company  owns  such  large  tracts  of  land  in  Colorado, 
New  Mexico,  Utah,  and  Wyoming  ; it  owns  coal  mines, 
iron  mines,  lime  quarries ; it  owns  parts  of,  two  rail- 
roads, besides  telegraph  and  telephone  lines  galore,  so 
that  by  reason  of  these  extensive  holdings  it  is  able  to 
secure  at  a minimum  of  cost  all  the  raw  materials  from 
which  the  finished  products  are  turned  out.  Upward  of 
three  hundred  thousand  acres  of  the  richest  coal  lands  in 
the  West,  an  empire  containing  one  hundred  square  miles 
more  than  the  coal  area  of  Pennsylvania,  constitute  the 
holdings  for  coal  mine  purposes  of  the  company.  In 
addition  there  are  iron,  manganese  mines,  and  limestone 
quarries  containing  the  elements  which  give  to  the  product 
of  the  furnaces  and  mills  qualities  that  secure  the  markets 
of  the  Western  world.  Its  plant  at  Pueblo  has  become 
the  centre  of  a town  called  Minnequa,  composed  of  its 
own  employes  and  their  families.  The  company  has 
established  a model  hospital,  with  a surgeon’s  department 
fitted  up  with  the  most  elaborate  and  finest  scientific 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  125 


and  nursing  facilities  ; a fine  library  and  large  reading- 
rooms,  and  a recreation  hall  and  gymnasium  for  the  work- 
men. Nearly  one  million  dollars  has  been  expended  on 
the  tenant  houses  belonging  to  the  company,  which  are 
rented  to  their  employes  on  fair  and  advantageous  terms. 
In  many  respects  Minnequa,  at  Pueblo,  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  manufacturing  centres  in  the  world,  presen t7 
ing  aspects  that  invite  study,  in  its  extensive  resources, 
the  vast  and  colossal  character  of  its  purposes,  and  its 
remarkable  achievements.  All  employes  are  given  the 
opportunity  to  acquire  homes  ; and  every  late  ideal  in 
the  way  of  providing  opportunities  for  their  care  in 
health,  in  mental  and  moral  development,  and  in  recrea- 
tions, is  carried  out  to  the  fullest  possible  extent. 

The  company  has  recently  engaged  in  an  irrigation 
enterprise  in  the  purchase  of  water-right  priorities  of  the 
Arkansas  River  for  seventy  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second, 
at  an  expense  of  one  million  dollars.  These  rights,  which 
date  back  to  1860-62,  are  among  the  oldest  existing,  and 
they  insure  to  the  company  the  uninterrupted  and  cer- 
tain possession  of  the  river  flow.  A court  decree  enabled 
them  to  change  the  point  of  division,  and  they  have 
constructed  a new  head-gate  at  Adobe,  six  miles  east  of 
Florence.  A canal  fifty-eight  miles  in  length  is  being 
constructed  from  Florence  to  the  mills  owned  by  the 
company.  The  cost  of  this  canal  will  be  some  three 
quarters  of  a million.  These  mills  produce  over  seventy- 


126  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

five  thousand  tons  of  iron  and  steel  each  month.  The 
manufacturing  plant  at  iMinnequa  includes  blast  furnaces, 
converting  works,  blooming  mills,  a merchant  iron  mill, 
a hoop  and  cotton  tie  mill,  a spike  factory,  a bolt  factory, 
a castings  and  pipe  foundry,  with  open  hearth  furnaces,  a 
reversing  mill,  and  many  other  appliances. 

“ It  must  not  be  supposed,  because  we  find  it  necessary 
to  practise  irrigation  in  Colorado,  that  we  therefore  never 
have  any  rains,”  observed  a Coloradoan ; “ on  the  contrary, 
the  rains  of  spring  are  usually  of  such  abundance  as  to 
make  the  ground  in  fine  condition  for  ploughing  and  put- 
ting in  crops,  and  we  seldom  find  it  necessary  to  apply 
water  to  germinate  any  kind  of  seed  ; only  once,  in  thirteen 
years’  experience  at  Greeley,  were  we  compelled  to  resort 
to  irrigation  before  crops  of  all  kinds  were  well  up  and 
considerably  advanced  in  growth.  About  the  last  of  May, 
however,  as  regularly  as  the  natural  periods  of  summer, 
autumn,  winter,  and  spring  occur  in  the  other  states, 
never  varying  more  than  a week  in  time,  these  copious 
rains  suddenly  cease  and  give  place  to  light  and  entirely 
inadequate  local  thunder-showers.  Now  is  the  accepted 
time,  and  all  over  cultivated  Colorado,  within  a period  of 
not  more  than  two  days,  every  flood-gate  is  opened  and 
the  life-giving  current  started  to  flowing  on  the  rapidly 
parching  grain.  Corn  will  endure  until  later  in  the 
season,  but  all  sowed  crops  must  get  one  thorough  appli- 
cation of  water  within  two  weeks  or  become  severely 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  127 


injured  for  the  want  of  it.  Day  and  night  the  silent 
current  flows  on  and  on,  among  the  fields  of  grain  ; not  a 
drop  of  water  nor  a moment  of  time  must  run  to  waste 
until  the  first  irrigation  is  completed.” 

In  so  exceptional  a summer  of  drought  and  heat  as 
was  that  of  1901  the  advantages  of  irrigation  stand  out. 
Journeying  through  Kansas,  the  long  day’s  ride  across 
the  state  revealed  continued  devastation  from  the  lack 
of  rain.  Corn  fields  looked  almost  as  if  a fire  had 
passed  over  them,  so  shrivelled  and  stunted  they  were ; 
but  in  Colorado  on  every  hand  there  were  greenness  and 
luxuriance  of  vegetation  and  of  crops.  The  result  is  sim- 
ply that,  with  irrigation,  man  controls  his  climate  and  all 
the  conditions  of  prosperity.  Without  it,  he  is  at  the 
mercy  of  the  elements.  . 

The  Union  Colony  of  Greeley  was  the  first  to  introduce 
upland  irrigation  in  Colorado.  Of  the  method  employed, 
the  “ Greeley  Tribune”  gave  this  description  : 

Almost  the  first  question  asked  by  many  persons  on  their 
first  arrival  in  Colorado,  when  they  see  the  irrigating  ditches 
running  along  the  sides  of  the  bluffs  high  above  the  river,  and 
back  from  it  five,  ten,  or  twenty  miles,  is,  ^ How  do  you  get 
the  water  out  of  the  river,  and  so  high  above  it  ? It  looks 
as  if  you  made  the  water  run  uphill.’  The  answer  is  very 
simple.  All  the  rivers  of  Colorado  are  mountain  streams,  and 
consequently  liave  a fall  of  from  ten  to  thirty  feet  to  the 
mile,  after  they  reach  the  plains.  In  the  mountains,  of 


128  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


course,  the  fall  is  often  much  greater.  The  plains  also  have 
a gradual  slope  eastward  from  the  foothills,  where  the  altitude 
is  generally  between  six  and  seven  thousand  feet  above  sea 
level,  while  at  the  eastern  boundar}^  of  the  state  it  is  only 
about  three  thousand  feet.  Take,  for  example,  the  canal 
generally  known  as  Number  Two,  which  waters  the  lands  of 
the  Greeley  Colony.  This  canal  is  taken  out  of  the  Cache 
la  Poudre  River,  about  seventeen  miles  west  of  Greeley,  and 
where  the  bed  of  the  river  is  probably  a hundred  and  sixty 
feet  higher  than  it  is  at  Greeley.  The  bed  of  the  canal  only 
has  a fall  of  from  three  to  three  and  a half  feet  to  the  mile  ; 
therefore  it  is  easily  seen  that  when  that  grade  is  continued 
for  a number  of  miles,  the  line  of  the  canal  will  run  in  a 
direction  further  and  further  from  the  river,  and  on  much 
higher  ground,  so  that  the  lands  lying  between  the  canal  and 
the  river  are  all  ‘ covered  by,’  or  on  a lower  level  than,  the 
water  in  the  canal.  In  the  process  of  irrigation  this  same 
plan  must  be  followed,  of  bringing  the  water  in  on  the  higher 
side  of  the  land  to  be  irrigated,  then  the  water  will  easily 
flow  all  over  the  ground.” 

In  Weld  County,  of  which  Greeley  is  the  county  seat, 
irrieration  was  extended  during  1905  to  cover  from  fifteen 
thousand  to  twenty  thousand  acres  of  arid  land  never 
before  under  cultivation,  and  storage  reservoii’s  increased 
in  capacity.  It  is  proposed  to  cut  a tunnel  through  the 
Medicine  Bow  mountain  range  and  to  bring  a large  quan- 
tity of  water  through  from  the  Western  slope  to  irrigate 
an  additional  fifty  thousand  acres  of  prairie. 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  129 


Within  the  past  year  there  have  been  two  potato  starch 
factories  started  in  successful  operation  in  Greeley  which 
are  estimated  to  pay  out  annually  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  for  potatoes  that  have  heretofore  been  practically 
a total  loss  to  the  farmers. 

The  Swift  Packing  Company  of  Chicago  propose  invest- 
ing one  and  a half  millions  in  further  irrigation  in  this 
county.  The  products  of  the  Greeley  district  alone,  for 
1905,  were  five  and  a half  millions,  — a fact  that  suggests 
the  wise  foresight  of  Hon.  Nathan  Cook  Meeker,  the 
founder  of  the  town,  in  selecting  this  location,  in  1869, 
for  his  colony. 

Of  recent  years  a remarkable  feature  of  agricultural 
progress  in  Colorado  has  been  developed  by  the  “ dry 
farming”  system,  the  discovery  of  which  is  due  to  Prof. 
H.  W.  Campbell,  who  has  been  experimenting,  for  some 
twenty  years  past,  in  Eastern  Colorado,  in  the  scientific 
culture  of  the  soil  without  benefit  of  irrigation.  Professor 
Campbell  says  that  he  had  been  assured  that  corn  would 
not  grow  at  an  altitude  of  three  thousand  feet,  as  the 
nights  would  be  too  cool ; but  that  he  can  refute  this,  as, 
during  the  past  five  years,  he  has  averaged  from  thirty  to 
forty-two  bushels  per  acre  at  an  altitude  ranging  from 
five  thousand  to  nearly  seven  thousand  feet.  Successful 
agriculture  is,  in  Professor  Campbell’s  belief,  based  on  the 
fundamental  principle  of  soil  culture,  and  in  an  interview 
he  said : 


9 


130  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


" While  the  great  work  now  being  done  by  the  government 
in  promoting  irrigation  enterprises  in  the  more  arid  portion 
of  the  West  and  the  using  of  millions  upon  millions  of  money 
for  the  building  of  mammoth  reservoirs  have  value  and  virtue, 
and  means  the  development  of  many  sections  that  must 
remain  almost  worthless  without  them,  and  the  spending  of 
thousands  of  dollars  in  traversing  foreign  countries  to  secure 
what  some  have  pleased  to  call  drought-resisting  plants,  will 
undoubtedly  play  their  part  in  promoting  the  welfare  and  pros- 
perity of  Colorado,  . . . yet  there  should  also  be  an  under- 
standing of,  first,  the  necessary  physical  condition  of  the  soil 
for  the  most  liberal  growth  and  development  of  roots ; sec- 
ondly, the  storing  and  conserving  the  entire  season  rainfall, 
— not  only  the  portion  that  falls  during  the  growing  season, 
but  from  the  early  spring  to  late  in  the  fall ; thirdly,  the  fact 
that  air  is  just  as  important  in  the  soil  as  water,  and  that  it  is 
the  combination  of  the  elements  of  air  and  water  in  the  soil, 
together  with  heat  and  light,  that  is  most  essential ; and  that 
when  these  conditions  are  fulfilled.  Eastern  Colorado  will 
come  to  its  rightful  own,  and  little  towns  and  cities  will 
spring  up  along  all  the  great  trunk  lines,  while  the  interven- 
ing country  will  be  dotted  with  ideal  farm  homes  and  shade 
trees  ; orchards  and  groves  will  break  the  monotony  of  the 
now  bleak  prairie,  and  present  a restful,  cheerful,  homelike, 
and  prosperous  condition.” 

While  agriculture  in  Colorado  is  regarded  as  in  its  in- 
fancy, yet  the  product  of  Colorado  farms  alone  contributed 
almost  fifty-one  millions  to  the  world’s  wealth,  in  1905, 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  131 


exclusive  of  wool,  hides,  or  livestock.  Professor  Olin  of  the 
State  Agricultural  College  estimates  that  there  are  over 
two  hundred  thousand  acres  in  Colorado  which  produce 
crops  without  irrigation,  by  the  application  of  Professor 
CampbelPs  “ dry-fanning  ” system.  The  so-called  dry 
land,  consisting  of  millions  of  acres  in  Eastern  Colorado, 
averages  now  four  dollars  per  acre,  where  one  year  ago 
untold  quantities  could  be  bought  for  an  average  of  two 
dollars  per  acre.  The  speculative  value  of  this  land  has 
gone  up  wonderfully  under  the  impetus  of  the  Campbell 
system  of  dry  farming.  If  this  system  comes  anywhere 
near  proving  the  claims  of  its  advocates,  it  will  vastly 
increase  the  wealth  and  population  of  the  state.  With 
a greater  understanding  of  the  science  of  dry  culture  it 
is  certain  that  the  farmers  of  the  state  and  the  state 
generally  will  experience  immeasurable  advantage.  In 
the  eastern  plains  of  Colorado  are  embraced  more  than 
fifteen  million  acres  of  land  which  are  now  lying  practi- 
cally useless,  only  a small  amount  being  utilized  for  rang- 
ing cattle.  The  claims  of  dry-culture  enthusiasts  and  those 
who  have  been  experimenting  with  seed  imported  to  meet 
the  dry  conditions  are,  that  this  empire  will  be  made 
to  yield  harvests  which  will  support  many  thriving  com- 
munities. In  proof  of  their  claims  they  point  to  so-called 
model  farms  established  at  various  places  on  the  plains 
where  the  hitherto  unyielding  soil  has  borne  substantial 
crops. 


132  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


One  important  feature  in  the  agricultural  development 
of  Colorado  is  the  extinction  of  the  bonanza  ranch  of  thou- 
sands of  acres.  Instead,  farms  are  reduced  to  manageable 
proportions,  and  are  carried  on  far  more  largely  by  intel- 
ligent thought  and  scientific  appliances  than  by  mere 
manual  labor. 

The  present  day  Colorado  ranch  is  an  all-the-year-round  . 
enterprise.  The  ranch  owner  is  a careful  business  man, 
who  watches  his  acres  and  the  products  thereof  even  as  the 
successful  merchant  or  manufacturer  acquires  close  knowl- 
edge of  all  the  details  of  his  business.  He  sows  his  land 
with  diversified  crops,  rotating  hay,  grain,  and  root  crops 
scientifically  for  the  double  purpose  of  securing  the  great- 
est yields  and  preserving  the  nourishing  qualities  of  the 
soil.  Keeping  in  touch  with  the  market  conditions  of  the 
world,  and  wuth  the  advancing  developments  of  science,  he 
is  easily  the  master  of  the  situation,  and  in  no  pai’t  of  the 
country  is  the  condition  of  the  farmer  better,  or  perhaps 
so  good,  as  in  Colorado.  The  agriculturist  of  the  Centen- 
nial State  who  is  the  owner  of  two  quarter  sections,  or  even 
of  one,  is  altogether  independent.  The  returns  from  his 
business  are  absolutely  sure,  and  with  the  certain  knowledge 
of  substantial  gains  at  the  end  of  the  season  he  plans  im- 
provements to  his  home,  and  comforts  and  even  luxuries  for 
himself  and  family,  which  far  exceed  those  usually  secured 
in  the  Middle  West  or  by  the  small  farmers  of  the  East. 
In  Colorado  it  will  be  found  that  almost  every  young  man 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  133 

and  woman  of  those  who  are  natives  of  the  state  are 
college  graduates.  Co-education  prevails,  just  as  does  the 
political  enfranchisement  of  women,  and  the  results  of  this 
larger  extension  of  the  opportunities  and  privileges  of  life 
are  very  much  in  evidence  in  the  beauty,  the  high  intelli- 
gence, and  the  liberal  culture  that  especially  characterize 
the  women  of  Colorado. 

Irrigation  enterprises  in  Colorado  are  far  more  widely 
recognized  than  is  the  Campbell  system  of  dry  culture ; 
but  in  1905  these  enterprises  appealed  with  increased  force 
to  capitalists  outside,  as  well  as  within  Colorado,  as  a safe 
and  profitable  means  of  investment.  Land  held  at  ten 
dollars  per  acre  is,  by  irrigation,  instantly  increased  in 
value  from  twenty  to  fifty  dollars  ; and  it  was  seen  that 
the  most  favorable  localities  within  the  state  in  which  to 
raise  funds  for  further  extension  of  irrigation  were  among 
the  farmers  in  the  older  irrigated  sections  who  have  won 
their  ranches,  improved  their  places,  and  made  large  depos- 
its in  the  banks  through  the  use  of  the  productive  waters 
trained  to  make  the  soil  blossom  with  wealth. 

Irrigation  is  developed  to  its  highest  excellence  in  North- 
ern Colorado  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Arkansas  River. 
These  regions  have  been  the  longest  under  irrigated  cul- 
ture, and  their  value  is  increasing  rapidly.  Each  year 
sees  the  agriculturist  grow  more  conservative  in  his  use 
of  water,  and  the  quantity  thus  saved  has  been  applied 
to  new  lands.  Thus,  in  an  interesting  and  quite  un- 


134  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


dreamed -of  way,  a problem  that  incited  discord  and  dis- 
sension, that  promised  only  to  increase  inevitably  as  larger 
territories  of  land  and  their  correspondingly  increased  irri- 
gation should  be  held,  was  brought  to  a peaceful  solution. 
Continued  litigation,  and  a great  pressure  to  secure  legis- 
lative restrictions  of  the  use  of  water  supply,  and  the  con- 
stant irritation  and  turmoil  involved  in  these  disputes, 
were  all,  happily,  laid  to  rest  by  the  discovery  of  the 
farmers  themselves  that  extravagance  in  the  use  of  water 
was  not  conducive  to  their  owm  prosperity.  In  the  mat- 
ter of  flood  w^aters  the  irrigation  experts  of  the  state  are 
quite  generally  meeting  the  condition  in  their  own  w^ay. 
Storage  reservoirs  are  dotting  the  irrigation  systems  at 
frequent  intervals,  and  in  the  dry  months  the  supply  piled 
up  behind  the  cement  dams  is  drawn  off  to  furnish  the 
final  necessary  moisture  for  the  maturing  of  the  crops. 

Another  possibility  of  irrigation  that  is  receiving  the 
attention  of  engineers  is  the  utilization  of  the  streams  for 
power  purposes.  In  many  cases  the  power  thus  generated 
w ill  be  made  to  accomplish  marvellous  feats  in  the  way  of 
construction,  as  in  the  instance  at  Grand  River,  already 
described. 

One  of  the  special  journeys  in  Colorado  is  that  called  a 
“ trip  around  the  circle,”  affording  more  than  a thousand 
miles  among  the  mountains  within  four  days’  time  ; but  a 
permission  for  ten  days  is  available,  thus  affording  several 
detours  by  stage,  which  penetrate  into  the  most  sublime 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  135 


regions.  The  abysmal  depth  of  five  of  the  great  canons  ; 
many  of  the  noted  mountain  passes  ; great  mining  camps, 
with  their  complicated  machinery ; cliff-dwellings,  vast 
plateaus,  and  stupendous  peaks  ; Indian  reservations  ; the 
icy  crevasses  a thousand  feet  in  depth  ; the  picturesque 
Continental  Divide,"’  from  which  one  looks  down  on  a 
thousand  mountain  peaks,  where  the  vast  Cordilleras  in 
their  rugged  grandeur  are  seen  as  a wide  plain  ; the  beau- 
tiful Sangre  de  Cristo  (“  Blood  of  Christ  ”)  range  ; the 
sharp  outlines  of  the  Spanish  Peaks,  rising  twelve  and 
thirteen  thousand  feet  into  the  air  ; beautiful  meadow 
lands  where  the  blue  and  white  columbine,  the  state  flower 
of  Colorado,  blooms  in  profusion,  and  the  tiger  lily,  the 
primrose,  and  the  “ shooting  stars  ” blossom,  — all  these 
are  enjoyed  within  the  “circle”  trip;  and  it  also  in- 
cludes Leadville,  the  “city  above  the  clouds,”  Durango, 
Ouray,  Gunnison,  and  other  interesting  towns.  It  offers  a 
near  view  of  the  Mount  of  the  Holy  Cross,  which  strange 
spectacle  is  made  by  the  snow  deposits  in  transverse,  gigan- 
tic canons,  — the  perpendicular  one  being  fifteen  hundred 
feet,  while  the  transverse  cross  is  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  in  length  ; of  Lost  Canon,  a novelty  even  in  a land 
of  canons;  and  of  the  Rio  de  Las  Animas  Perditas,  old 
Fort  Lewus,  the  valley  of  Dolores  River,  a region  of 
early  Spanish  discovery ; of  Black  Canon  and  Cimarron 
Canon  and  Grand  River  Canon,  whose  walls  rise  to  the 
height  of  more  than  twenty-five  hundred  feet  ; — nil  these 


136  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

are  but  the  merest  outline  and  hint  of  the  scenic  wonders 
compassed  within  the  circle  trip.  Up  the  canons  the  train 
climbs  ; through  narrow  gorges  with  overhanging  rocks,  on 
and  on,  till  a plateau  is  reached ; then  more  canons,  more 
climbing,  more  peaks  towering  into  the  skies,  and  water- 
falls chiming  their  music.  As  even  an  enthusiast  in  scen- 
ery cannot  entirely  subsist  on  stars,  sunsets,  and  silences, 
the  luxurious  comforts  of  these  trains  enhance  one’s  enjoy- 
ment. A dining-car  is  always  on,  and  the  excellence  of 
the  food  and  the  moderate  prices  for  all  this  perfect  com- 
fort and  convenience  are  features  the  traveller  appreciates. 
That  dance  of  the  Brocken  which  one  fancies  he  sees  in 
the  fantastic  sandstone  formations  on  the  mountain’s  side 
on  the  romantic  route  to  Glenwood  Springs  is  occasion- 
ally duplicated  in  other  canons,  where  these  strange  rocks 
resolve  themselves,  with  the  aid  of  the  mysterious  lights 
and  shadows,  into  a dance  of  witches,  and  every  shape 
springs  to  life.  The  train  rushes  on,  and  one  leaves  them 
dancing,  confident  that  although  these  figures  may  be  sta- 
tionary by  day,  they  dance  at  night.  Another  mountain 
slope  of  the  sandstone  shows  a colossal  figure  of  a prophet, 
— shrouded,  hooded,  suggesting  that  solemn,  majestic 
figure  of  death  in  Daniel  French’s  great  work  entitled 
“Death  and  the  Sculptor.”  The  precipitous  walls  of  the 
canon  rise  in  many  places  to  over  a thousand  feet  in  height. 
In  their  sides  such  a variety  of  designs  and  figures  have 
been  sculptured  by  erosion  that  the  traveller  half  im- 


CATHEDRAL  ROCKS,  CLYDE  I'AliK,  CRIRRLE  CREEK  SHORT  LINE 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  137 


agines  himself  in  the  realm  of  the  gods  of  Hellas.  These 
innumerable  designs  and  figures  incite  not  only  the  play 
of  fancy,  but  they  invite  the  study  of  the  geologist, 
who  finds  here  the  primary  rock  formations  exhibited  in 
the  most  varied  and  striking  manner.  As  the  train 
winds  deeper  into  the  heart  of  the  projecting  rocks  the 
crested  crags  loom  up  beyond  the  sight ; below,  the  river 
rushes  in  foaming  torrents  and  only  a faint  arch  of 
the  sky  is  seen.  There  are  recesses  never  penetrated 
by  the  sun. 

Another  group  of  the  sandstone  shapes,  under  the  trans- 
formation of  moonlight,  resolved  itself  into  a band  of 
angels,  and  still  another  mountain-side  seems  to  be  the 
scene  of  ballet  dancers.  The  splendid  heights  of  Dolores 
Peak  and  Expectation  Mountain,  the  Lizard  Head,  the 
Cathedral  Spires,  the  Castle  Peaks  of  the  Sangre  de  Cristo 
— what  points  and  groups  that  fairly  focus  all  conceiv- 
able sublimity  they  form  ! Here  is  a state  more  than 
a third  larger  than  all  New  England ; it  is  the  state  of 
sunsets  and  of  stars  ; of  scenery  that  is  impressive  and 
uplifting,  rather  than  merely  picturesque ; a state  whose 
plains,  even,  are  of  the  same  altitude  as  the  summit  of 
Mount  Washington  in  the  AVhite  Mountains,  and  whose 
mountains  and  peaks  ascend  to  an  altitude  of  over  two 
miles  above  this  height.  Of  the  total  extent  of  Colorado, 
the  mountains,  inclusive  of  parks  and  foothills,  occupy 
two-thirds  of  the  area.  So  it  is  easily  realized  to  what 


138  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


extent  they  dominate  the  scene.  But  great  and  impres- 
sive as  they  are  in  effect,  the  mountain  features  have  an 
undoubted  influence,  however  unconsciously  received,  on 
the  character  of  the  people.  The  effect  of  beauty  on 
character  is  incalculable.  When  to  beauty  is  added 
sublimity,  how  much  greater  must  this  effect  be  ! It  was 
not  mere  rhetoric  when  the  Psalmist  exclaimed,  “ I will  lift 
up  mine  eyes  unto  the  hills,  from  whence  cometh  my  help. 
IVIy  help  cometh  from  the  Lord,  which  made  heaven  and 
earth.  . . . The  Lord  shall  preserve  thee  from  all  evil. 
He  shall  preserve  thy  soul.”  It  is  this  train  of  thought 
which  is  inevitably  suggested  to  the  mind  in  gazing  upon 
the  stately,  solemn  impressiveness  of  the  mountain  scenery. 
Nature  has  predestined  Colorado  for  the  theatre  of  noble 
life,  and  the  influence  is  all-pervading. 

Great  engineering  feats  are  in  evidence  all  over  Colo- 
rado. Miles  of  railway  tunnels  pass  through  the  moun- 
tains. No  mountain,  not  even  Pike's  Peak,  is  regarded  in 
Colorado  as  being  in  any  sense  an  obstacle  to  any  form  of 
the  extension  of  travel.  The  railroad  either  passes  through 
it  or  climbs  it.  The  matter  is  apparently  simple  to  the 
railroad  mind,  and  evidently  all  the  peaks  of  the  Hima- 
layas piled  on  Pike’s  or  Long’s  peaks  — “ Ossa  piled  on 
Pelion  ” — would  not  daunt  the  Coloradoan  enterprise. 
In  fact,  the  greater  the  obstacle,  the  greater  is  the  enter- 
prise thereby  incited  to  overcome  it.  In  the  most  literal 
way  obstacles  in  this  land  of  enchantment  are  miraculously 


WANDERiNGS  IN  COLORADO  139 


transformed  to  stepping-stones.  But  what  would  you, — 
in  an  Enchanted  Country  ? 

Colorado  has  four  great  systems  of  parks  whose  eleva- 
tion is  from  seven  to  nine  thousand  feet:  North  Park, 
with  an  area  of  some  twenty-five  hundred  square  miles ; 
South  Park,  one  thousand ; Middle  Park,  three  thousand  ; 
and  San  Luis,  with  nine  thousand  four  hundred  square 
miles,  — all  sheltered  by  mountains,  watered  by  perpetual 
streams,  and  so  rich  in  grass  lands  as  to  afford  perpetual 
grazing  and  farming  resources.  Colorado  has  nearly  one 
thousand  inland  lakes,  and  over  two  hundred  and  fifty 
rivers  fed  from  mountain  snows.  Its  grand  features  in- 
clude mountains,  canons,  gorges  and  deep  chasms,  crags 
and  heights  ; its  mountain  systems  cover  more  than  five 
times  the  area  of  the  Alps,  and  its  luminous,  electrically 
exhilarating  air,  its  play  of  color,  and  the  necromancy  of 
distances  that  seem  near  when  afar  — all  linger  in  the 
memory  as  a dream  of  ecstatic  experiences.  Colorado  is 
all  a splendor  of  color,  of  vista,  and  of  dream.  It  is  the 
most  poetic  of  states. 

Now  the  fact  that  this  country  has  been  importing  over 
two  million  tons  of  sugar  a year  lends  importance  to  the 
beet  sugar  factories  already  largely  established.  Colorado 
has  a future  in  beet  sugar  hardly  second  to  her  gold- 
mining interests,  if  her  interests  receive  the  national  safe- 
guarding that  is  her  due. 

Colorado  and  the  Philippines  were  brought  into  collision 


140  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


of  interests  by  the  attempt  to  reduce  the  tariff  on  sugar 
imported  from  those  islands.  This  would  ruin  the  beet 
sugar  industry  in  the  Centennial  State,  which  is  already  be- 
ginning to  transform  it  into  one  of  the  richest  agricultural 
states  in  the  Union. 

This  industry  is  absolutely  identified  with  the  irrigation 
interests  of  Colorado,  as  it  is  the  arid  land  iiTigated  that 
offers  the  best  facilities  for  the  sugar  beets. 

The  beet  sugar  enterprise  means  remunerative  work  for 
the  farmer,  good  business  for  the' railroads  and  merchants, 
and  an  incalculable  degree  of  prosperity  for  all  Colorado. 
Thomas  F.  Walsh,  of  Ouray,  Colorado,  and  of  Washing- 
ton, made  an  earnest  protest  against  this  movement. 

Mr.  Walsh  is  a great  capitalist,  but  while  he  has  not 
one  dollar  concerned  in  the  beet  sugar  enterprise  of  his 
state,  he  is  a loyal  and  devoted  son  of  Colorado.  In  a 
convincing  manner  he  said: 

^^  ...  It  is  not  a small  thing,  this  robbery  of  American 
fanners  and  home-makers  for  the  benefit  of  sugar  corporations 
and  exploiters  of  Philippine  labor.  It  means  the  ultimate  ruin 
of  an  industry  that  is  full  of  the  brightest  promise  for  thou- 
sands of  Americans.  It  means  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  shall  pay  tribute  to  a trust  forever  for  one  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life.  . . . The  removal  of  protection  to  Colorado 
sugar  growers  would  simply  mean  that  the  sugar  trust,  or 
cormorants  in  human  form  like  it,  would  go  to  the  Philippines, 
employ  the  peons  at  starvation  wages,  and  send  millions  of 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  141 


tons  of  sugar  to  the  United  States.  Would  the  consumer 
here  be  benefited  ? Not  at  all.  Has  the  consumer  benefited 
by  reciprocity  with  Cuba.^  The  sugar  trust  has  received  a 
gift  from  the  treasury  of  the  United  States  — that  is  all.” 

And  again  Mr.  Walsh  truly  says : 

This  proposition  is  merely  a design  on  the  part  of  enor- 
mously rich,  greedy  speculators,  who  are  willing  to  adopt  any 
means  for  the  accumulation  of  more  money.  Money,  money, 
money  ! They  have  already  a thousand  times  more  than  they 
need,  and  are  simply  money  mad.  They  propose  to  exploit 
the  Philippines  for  their  own  selfish  ends.  Help  for  the  poor 
Filipinos,  indeed ! Imagine  the  generosity  of  these  get-rich- 
quick  sharks  towards  the  peons  in  their  employ.  Think  of 
the  wages  that  would  be  paid,  contrasted  with  the  standard 
of  living  in  the  United  States  ! I ’d  rather  have  the  people 
of  this  country  exterminated  than  to  be  brought  to  such  a 
level.” 

Regarding  the  arid  land  Mr.  Walsh  said : 

With  the  application  of  water  to  this  land  under  the 
National  Irrigation  Act  — one  of  the  greatest  acts  of  states- 
manship accomplished  under  our  broad-minded  and  far-sighted 
President  — the  people  of  Colorado  will  furnish  an  outlet  for 
a great  population,  and  the  cultivation  of  beets  for  sugar  will 
enable  thousands  of  American  citizens  to  establish  homes  of 
their  own.  That  is  what  is  now  being  done  in  Colorado,  and 
the  industry  is  in  its  infancy.  The  people  have  gone  in  there 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  government,  planted  beets  provided 


142  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


to  them  by  the  agricultural  department,  and  started  a great 
industiy.  There  was  an  implied,  if  not  expressed,  promise 
that  they  were  to  be  protected  in  this  new  industry.  Yet  it 
is  now  proposed  to  place  them  in  competition  with  the  peons 
of  the  Philippines,  at  the  most  critical  time  in  the  history  of 
the  industry.  The  people  of  the  East,”  continued  Mr.  Walsh, 
do  not  seem  to  be  able  to  grasp  the  great  possibilities  of  the 
arid  West  under  the  operation  of  the  national  irrigation  law. 
The  West,  properly  irrigated  with  water  that  we  know  can  be 
developed  by  drainage,  wells,  and  underground  flow,  will 
easily  support  fifty  millions  of  people.  Think  of  what  this 
means ! Fifty  millions  of  American  citizens  owning  their 
own  homes ! It  is  an  incalculable  addition  to  the  wealth  and 
strength  of  the  United  States.” 

One  of  the  very  valuable  and  exceptional  resources  of 
Colorado  is  in  its  stone,  which  equals  the  world’s  best  prod- 
uct in  its  quality.  Millions  of  tons  of  almost  every  variety 
of  building  stone  lie  unclaimed  on  the  hills  and  plateaus. 
There  are  quarries  in  Gunnison  County  that  would  make 
their  owners  multi-millionnaires,  could  the  stone  be  made 
easy  of  access  or  transportation.  The  difficulty  of  the 
former,  and  the  high  freight  charges,  combine  to  delay 
this  field  of  development.  In  Pueblo  there  is  a marbleized 
sandstone  that  is  very  beautiful.  Its  “ crushing  ” strength, 
as  the  architectural  phrase  goes,  is  between  eleven  and 
twelve  thousand  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  — a strength 
which  exceeds  the  most  exacting  requirements  of  any 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  143 


architect.  This  stone  is  found  in  unlimited  quantities. 
In  the  country  around  Fort  Collins  there  is  a red  sand- 
stone which  is  very  popular,  and  this  is  also  found  in  large 
quantities  at  Castle  Rock,  south  of  Denver.  Near  Trinidad 
is  a gray  sandstone  of  great  beauty,  and  the  Amago  stone, 
which  is  used  for  the  Denver  Postoffice,  is  a favorite. 

In  stone  for  decorative  purposes  also,  Colorado  is  plenti- 
fully supplied.  Specimens  of  marble  from  the  vicinity  of 
Redstone  show  characteristics  as  beautiful  as  are  seen  in 
the  finest  Italian  marble  found  at  Carrara. 

Besides  the  marble  for  building  there  are  also  vast 
beds  of  the  purest  white  marble,  which  will  soon  be 
placed  on  the  market  for  statuary  purposes. 

Vast  deposits  of  granite  are  to  be  found  in  many  differ- 
ent sections  of  the  state.  In  Clear  Creek  County,  about 
Silver  Plume  and  Georgetown,  there  are  mountains  of 
granite.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  state  deposits  are 
found  which  are  used  extensively  for  monumental  pur- 
poses, and  great  quantities  of  this  granite  are  shipped 
out  of  the  state. 

Although  only  a limited  amount  of  work  in  the  way 
of  development  and  seeking  markets  has  been  done  for 
Colorado  stone,  the  value  of  the  sales  is  already  an 
appreciable  source  of  revenue. 

Statistically,  Colorado  ranks  first  in  the  United  States 
as  to  the  yield  of  gold  and  silver ; first  in  the  area  of 
land  under  irrigation ; first  as  to  the  quality  of  wheat, 


144  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


potatoes,  and  melons,  and  as  to  the  percentage  of  sugar  in 
the  sugar  beet.  The  state  ranks  fifth  in  coal  and  iron ; 
sixth  in  live  stock,  and  eighth  in  agriculture.  It  is  true, 
however,  that  irrigated  agriculture  is  considered  to  be  the 
most  important  interest  in  Colorado.  The  Centennial 
State  is  not,  primarily,  as  has  often  been  supposed,  a 
mining  state ; the  mines,  rich  and  varied  in  products  as 
they  are,  offer  yet  a value  secondary  to  that  of  agriculture. 
A mine  is  always  an  uncertainty.  A rich  pocket  may  be 
found  that  is  an  isolated  one  and  leads  to  nothing  of  a 
permanently  rich  deposit.  A vast  outlay  of  time  and 
expensive  mechanism  can  be  made  that  will  not  result 
in  any  returns.  An  apparently  rich  mine  may  suddenly 
come  to  an  end  ; the  miner  may  have  reason  to  believe 
that  if  he  could  go  down  some  thousands  of  feet  he  would 
again  strike  the  rich  vein  ; he  may  do  this  at  great  cost 
of  machinery  and  labor  only  to  find  that  the  vein  has 
totally  disappeared,  or  does  not  exist.  All  these  and 
many  other  mischances  render  mining  something  very  far 
from  an  exact  science,  — something,  indeed,  totally  incal- 
culable, even  to  the  specialists  and  experts,  — while  agri- 
culture is  an  industry  whose  conditions  render  it  within 
reasonable  probabilities  of  control  and  calculation.  The 
great  problem  which  continues  to  confront  Colorado,  and 
to  a far  greater  extent  Arizona,  is  the  more  complete 
understanding  of  what  Prof.  Elwood  Mead,  the  govern- 
ment expert  in  national  irrigation  problems,  calls  “the 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  145 


duty  of  water”  and  the  conditions  which  influence  it  as 
a basis  for  planning  the  larger  and  costlier  works  which 
must  be  built  in  the  future. 

‘‘One  of  the  leading  objects  of  expert  irrigation  investi- 
gation is  to  determine  the  duty  of  water,”  says  Professor 
Mead,  and  he  adds  : 

order  to  do  this  it  is  necessary  to  deal  with  a large 
range  of  climatic  conditions,  and  to  study  the  influence  of 
different  methods  of  application  and  the  requirements  of 
different  crops.  Farmers  need  an  approximate  knowledge 
of  the  duty  of  water  in  order  to  make  intelligent  contracts  for 
their  supply.  It  is  needed  by  the  engineer  and  investors  in 
order  to  plan  canals  and  reservoirs  properly.  Without  this 
knowledge  every  important  transaction  in  the  construction  of 
irrigation  works,  or  in  the  distribution  of  water  therefrom,  is 
very  largely  dependent  on  individual  judgment  or  conjec- 
ture. ...  In  constructing  reservoirs  it  is  as  necessary  to 
know  whether  they  will  be  filled  in  a few  years  by  silt  as  to 
know  that  the  dam  rests  on  a solid  foundation ; and  it  is  as 
desirable  to  provide  some  means  for  the  removal  of  this  sedi- 
mentary accumulation  as  it  is  to  provide  an  adequate  waste 
way  for  floods.” 

The  problems  of  irrigation  are  evidently  highly  com- 
plicated ones.  There  are  lai’ge  tracts  of  irrigated  land 
selling  at  three  hundred  dollars  an  acre  which,  fifty  years 
ago,  were  held  as  worthless  desert  regions.  The  value  of 

water  rights  has  risen  from  four  to  thirty-five  dollars  an 

10 


146  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


acre.  The  Platte  River  and  its  tributaries,  alone,  irrigate 
one  million  nine  hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand  four 
hundred  and  sixty-five  acres.  In  the  South  Platte  the 
average  flow  of  water  is  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
sixty-five  feet  a second.  The  North  Platte  and  its  tribu- 
taries irrigate  about  nine  hundred  thousand  acres.  There 
are  now  over  two  million  acres  in  Colorado  under  actual 
irrigation,  with  an  agricultural  population  of  some  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  with  a total  income  of  over 
thirty  millions.  The  agricultural  population  is  increas- 
ing so  rapidly  that  the  day  cannot  be  distant  when  it  will 
reach  a million,  with  a total  production  of  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars.  It  is  believed  that  an 
expenditure  of  forty  millions  in  irrigation  at  the  present 
time  would  immediately  result  in  an  increment  of  from 
two  hundred  to  three  hundred  millions.  The  irrigation 
bill  that  passed  Congress  in  1904  proved  of  the  most 
beneficial  nature  to  Colorado  ; not  only  for  its  immediate 
effects,  but  for  the  promise  it  implied  and  the  confidence 
inspired  in  the  immediate  future.  The  encouragement 
of  irrigation  in  Colorado  is  the  influence  that  enlarges  and 
develops  the  agricultural  efforts,  promoting  the  growing 
industry  of  beet  sugar  and  extending  all  resources.  Be- 
yond the  material  results  there  lie,  too,  the  most  impor- 
tant social  conditions  of  the  greater  content  and  industry 
of  the  people  and  the  corresponding  decrease  of  tendencies 
toward  anarchy  and  disorder. 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  147 


In  the  quarter  of  a century  — with  the  sixth  year  now 
added  — since  Colorado  became  a state  there  has  passed 
over  twenty  million  acres  of  government  lands  into  the 
individual  ownership  of  men  whose  capital,  for  the  most 
part,  consisted  solely  of  the  horses  and  wagon  that  they 
brought  with  them.  Of  this  vast  area  there  are  some 
two  and  a half  million  acres  under  agricultural  cultivation, 
which  are  assessed  at  a valuation  of  some  twenty-five 
millions.  The  Boston  and  Colorado  smelter,  established 
in  1873,  has  produced  a valuation  in  gold,  silver,  and 
copper  of  nearly  ninety-six  millions.  In  the  year  of  1905 
the  Colorado  mines,  — gold,  silver,  lead,  copper,  and  zinc, 
— all  told,  produced  nearly  ninety  million  dollars. 

The  population  of  Colorado  is  increasing  rapidly,  not 
only  by  the  stream  of  immigration  that  pours  in  of  those 
who  come  con  intentione^  but  to  a considerable  degree  by 
those  who  come  only  as  tourists  and  visitors,  and  who 
become  so  fascinated  ' with  Colorado’s  charm,  and  so  im- 
pressed with  her  rich  and  varied  resources,  that  they 
remain.  The  development  of  this  state  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  and  thrilling  pages  in  American  history.  It 
is  the  story  of  personal  sacrifice,  personal  heroism,  personal 
devotion  to  the  nobler  purposes  and  ideals  of  life  that  no 
one  can  read  unmoved. 

“ There  can  be  no  backward  movement,  not  even  a 
check  in  the  steady  tramp  of  such  a conquering  army,” 
said  the  “ Denver  Republican  ” editorially.  “ Before  it. 


148  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


mountains  melt  into  bars  of  gold,  of  silver,  of  copper,  lead, 
zinc,  and  iron.  It  passes  over  virgin  soil,  and  behind  it 
spring  up  fields  of  grain  and  groves  of  fruit.  It  brings  coal 
from  distant  fields,  rocks  from  far-away  hills,  and  its  arti- 
sans mould  and  weld  and  send  out  tools  of  trade  and  articles 
of  merchandise  to  all  the  world. 

“ It  pushes  the  railroads  it  needs  to  where  it  needs  them, 
and  the  world  comes  to  marvel  at  its  audacity.  It  finds 
to-day  what  yesterday  it  needed  and  to-mon'ow  it  must 
have.  It  waits  only  the  world’s  needs  or  pleasures  to  find 
yet  other  ways  to  supply  them.” 

The  prosperity  of  Colorado  is  a remarkable  fact  in  our 
national  history.  By  some  untraced  law,  defects,  faults, 
misfortunes,  or  crimes  are  always  made  more  prominent 
than  virtue  and  good  fortune.  The  crime  is  telegraphed 
everywhere,  the  good  deed  is  passed  over  in  silence  — as  a 
rule.  And  so  the  strikes,  and  the  outlawry,  and  the 
discords  and  troubles  of  Colorado  have  been  very  widely 
heralded,  while  there  has  been  less  general  recognition  of 
the  firm  and  just  governmental  authority  that  has  held 
these  outbreaks  in  check,  and  has  almost  succeeded  in 
ending  them  entirely. 

In  general  aspects  and  conveniences  the  towns  and  cities 
are  under  excellent  municipal  regulations.  Leadville,  for- 
merly one  of  the  most  lawless  of  great  mining  camps,  is 
to-day  a peaceful  and  prosperous  city  on  a great  trans-conti- 
nental highway.  The  Western  towns  begin  with  wide, clean. 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  149 


beautiful  streets.  They  begin  with  the  most  tasteful 
architecture.  It  may  not  be  the  most  expensive  or  the 
most  colossal,  but  it  is  beautiful. 

Northern  Colorado  is  in  many  respects  a distinctive 
region  of  itself.  It  offers  rich  agricultural  facilities  ; the 
beet  sugar  factories  at  Greeley  are  making  it  a commercial 
centre ; the  electric  trolley  line  which  will  soon  connect 
Greeley  with  Denver  will  multiply  the  homes  and  settlements 
within  this  distance  of  fifty  miles,  and  this  part  of  Colorado 
is  enriched  with  great  coal  fields.  The  latter  promise  not 
merely  their  own  extension  of  industries  in  digging  the 
coal  and  putting  it  on  the  market,  but  they  also  indicate 
another  and  far  more  important  result,  which  stimulates 
the  scientific  imagination,  — that  of  making  Northern 
Colorado  a power  centre  whose  strength  can  be  applied  in 
a variety  of  ways  and  transmitted  over  a large  area  of 
country.  For  more  than  two  years  the  Government  has 
been  conducting  a series  of  experiments  in  a very  thorough 
manner,  endeavoring  to  ascertain  the  gas  values  of  the 
great  lignite  coal  fields  between  Boulder  and  Denver.  It 
has  been  discovered  that  the  converting  of  the  coal  into 
gas  gives  it  double  the  efficiency  for  use  as  a motor  power 
for  engine  or  for  fuel  than  can  be  gained  from  the  coal  in 
its  natural  state.  A ton  of  coal  converted  into  gas  will,  as 
gas,  give  twice  the  power  that  the  coal  would  have  yielded, 
and  give  the  same  power  that  two  tons  of  coal,  that  has 
not  been  converted  into  gas,  would  afford.  In  order,  how- 


150  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


ever,  to  produce  this  power  economically,  it  must  be  done 
at  the  point  of  mining.  It  is  there  that  the  gas  pro- 
ducers must  be  located ; and  from  these  points  the  gas 
can  be  transported  in  pipes,  or  can  be  converted  into 
electricity  and  sent  by  wires  at  far  less  cost  than  would  be 
that  of  sending  the  coal  itself  by  freight.  These  dis- 
coveries not  only  suggest  that  this  region  in  Colorado  is 
destined  in  the  near  future  to  become  a power  centre  which 
will  be  tapped  from  the  surrounding  country  for  a great 
distance  in  all  directions,  and  will  thus  render  Boulder 
one  of  the  most  important  of  Western  cities ; but  they 
also  suggest  the  evident  tendency  of  the  age  toward  in- 
tensity rather  than  immensity,  — toward  the  concentration 
of  energy  in  the  most  ethereal  form  rather  than  its 
diffusion  through  large  and  clumsy  masses  of  material. 

Colorado  contains  over  twenty-five  thousand  square 
miles  of  coal  fields,  distributed  over  the  state,  with  an 
average  annual  product  of  over  seven  million  tons.  No 
other  corresponding  area  in  the  entire  world  exceeds  Colo- 
rado in  its  great  storage  of  coal,  and  the  state  ranks  as  one 
of  the  first  in  the  production  of  iron. 

There  are  already  fifteen  beet  sugar  factories  in  opera- 
tion, representing  investments  amounting  to  over  twelve 
million  dollars,  and  which  are  estimated  to  have  produced, 
in  1906,  an  aggregate  of  some  two  hundred  and  twenty  thou- 
sand pounds  of  sugar,  the  percentage  of  saccharine  matter 
being  higher  than  that  of  the  sugar  beet  of  California. 


SULTAN  MOUNTAIN 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  151 


Statistically,  Colorado  ranks  first  in  irrigation,  and  there 
are  some  eighteen  thousand  miles  of  irrigating  canals 
already  in  operation,  with  the  system  being  so  rapidly 
extended  that  it  almost  outruns  the  pace  of  calculation. 
Three  million  acres  are  under  cultivation  in  Colorado,  and 
two  million  eight  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  are  irri- 
gated ; the  storage  reservoirs  already  constructed  are  suffi- 
cient to  place  another  million  of  acres  under  cultivation. 
This  irrigated  land  sells  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  dollars 
per  acre.  Colorado  has  a reputation  for  being  a great  po- 
tato state,  and  in  the  year  1905  the  town  of  Greeley  alone 
shipped  over  three  hundred  thousand  dollars’  worth  of  po- 
tatoes, while  tomatoes  are  a feature  often  yielding  ninety 
dollars  to  the  acre,  and  celery  has  been  estimated  to  yield 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  an  acre.  There  are  tracts 
of  from  two  to  three  thousand  acres  devoted  to  peas  alone, 
producing  forty  to  fifty  thousand  cans ; and  asparagus 
grows  with  great  success. 

Colorado  is  a fruit  country  offering  the  best  of  condi- 
tions. The  peaches  of  Southern  Colorado  lead  the  world 
in  flavor,  beauty,  and  size ; the  canteloupe  flourishes  with 
such  extraordinary  vitality  that  it  often  yields  a revenue 
of  fifty  dollars  an  acre ; and  the  watermelon  also  grows  in 
unusual  perfection.  The  valley  of  the  Arkansas  River  is 
the  great  region  for  producing  melons,  and  Colorado  ex- 
ports these  to  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  and  St. 
Louis.  Apples,  plums,  and  pears  grow  with  equally  boun- 


152  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


teous  success,  and  there  are  fruit  farms  that  with  their 
orchards  and  small  fruits  sometimes  realize  fifty  thousand 
dollars  a year,  when  the  season  is  a good  one  and  the 
market  conditions  favorable.  The  seasons  of  irrigated 
land  are  largely  under  control,  and  surpass  those  regions 
which  are  at  the  mercy  of  excessive  rains  or  of  droughts. 
So  the  law  of  compensation  still  obtains.  The  resources 
of  horticulture,  alone,  in  Colorado  are  very  important, 
and  they  form  one  of  the  most  alluring  features  of  this 
beautiful  and  richly  bountiful  state. 

In  the  way  of  crops,  alfalfa  takes  the  lead  in  Colorado, 
as  wheat  does  in  Kansas.  It  requires  the  very  minimum 
of  care ; the  land  being  once  planted  with  alfalfa,  there  is 
need  only  of  turning  on  the  irrigation,  and  mowing  it,  at 
the  right  time.  Alfalfa  produces  three  crops  a year,  and 
yields  from  one  to  two  tons  per  acre.  It  sells  at  from 
three  to  ten  dollars  a ton,  and  this  makes  a revenue  quite 
worth  considering.  The  difficulties  encountered  every- 
where in  Colorado,  in  every  branch  of  industry,  or  in 
domestic  work,  are  those  of  securing  labor.  Wages  are 
high  in  every  conceivable  line  of  work,  but  to  a large  ex- 
tent the  labor  and  service,  even  when  procured,  is  of  a very 
poor  order.  In  many  of  the  larger  hotels  employes  ai*e 
often  kept  on  the  pay-roll  for  two  months  at  a time  when 
not  needed,  simply  because  it  is  impossible  to  fill  their 
places  when  the  need  comes.  From  requirements  of  the 
seamstress,  the  laundress,  the  cook,  the  maid,  the  farmer’s 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  153 


working-men,  or  the  employes  in  almost  any  line  of  work, 
the  same  difficulty  exists.  Much  is  heard  regarding 
strikes  and  other  forms  of  the  eternal  conflict  between 
labor  and  capital ; and  yet  the  high  rates  paid,  the  con- 
cessions constantly  made  to  the  demands  of  employes,  the 
conditions  provided  for  them,  would  seem,  at  a superficial 
glance,  to  be  such  as  to  bridge  over  every  difficulty.  Do- 
mestic service  is  something  that  presents  the  greatest  prob- 
lem on  the  part  of  the  employer.  If  there  is  so  large  a 
number  of  “the  unemployed”  in  the  East,  why  should  not 
the  conditions  balance  themselves  and  this  superfluous  ele- 
ment find  good  conditions  for  living  in  Colorado  ? This 
question  involves  the  problem  of  economics,  with  which 
these  pages  have  nothing  to  do  ; but  no  traveller,  no  so- 
journer, can  linger  in  Colorado  who  is  not  simply  lost  in 
wonder  that  the  varied  work  that  is  waiting,  with  the 
most  liberal  payments  for  the  worker,  and  the  multitude 
of  workers  in  the  East  who  need  the  liberal  payment, 
cannot,  by  some  law  of  elective  affinity,  be  brought 
together. 

When  it  is  realized  that  the  Rocky  Mountains  occupy 
in  Colorado  more  than  five  times  the  entire  space  of  the 
Alps  in  Europe,  their  importance  in  climatic  influence  as 
well  as  in  scenic  magnificence  can  be  understood.  The 
forests  of  Colorado  are  found  on  the  mountains  and  foot- 
hills. The  heights  are  covered  with  a dense  growth  of 
pine  woods,  while  in  lower  ranges  abound  the  silver  spruce 


154  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


and  the  cedar.  Colorado  has  a state  forestry  association 
which  aims  to  secure  as  a reservation  all  forests  above  the 
altitude  of  eight  thousand  five  hundred  feet,  as  this  preser- 
vation is  considered  most  important  to  the  water  supply. 
In  the  Alps  there  are  nine  peaks  over  fourteen  thousand 
feet  in  height ; in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  within  the  limits 
of  Colorado  alone,  there  are  forty-three  peaks,  each  one  of 
which  exceeds  in  height  the  Jungfrau.  There  are  in 
Colorado  more  than  thirty  towns,  each  of  which  is  the 
theatre  of  active  progress,  and  each  of  which  lies  at  an 
altitude  exceeding  that  of  the  pass  of  St.  Bernard.  The 
sublime  canons  and  gorges  are  eloquent  of  the  story  of 
Titanic  forces  which  rent  the  mountains  apart.  The 
vast  plateaus  were  once  the  bed  of  inland  seas.  In  the 
canon  of  Grand  River  towering  walls  rise  to  the  height 
of  half  a mile,  in  sheer  precipitous  rock,  for  a distance  of 
some  sixteen  miles.  The  strata  of  these  rocks  are  dis- 
tinctly defined,  and  the  play  of  color  is  rich  and  fantastic. 
The  vast  walls  are  in  brilliant  hues  of  red  and  amber  and 
green  and  brown, — the  blending  of  color  lending  its 
enchantment  to  the  marvellous  scene.  Each  canon  has 
its  own  individuality.  No  one  repeats  the  wild  charm  of 
another.  Excursions  abound.  There  is  “ the  loop,”  an 
enchanting  mountain  ride  made  from  Denver  within  one 
day  for  the  round  trip  ; the  “ Rainbow  ” tour,  and  others, 
besides  that  of  the  “ circle  ” already  described.  In  each 
and  all  these  journeys  the  route , is  often  on  the  very 


WANDERINGS  IN  COLORADO  155 


verge  of  the  abyss,  and  the  sublimities,  the  splendor  of 
coloring,  exceed  any  power  of  language  to  suggest. 

In  Northwestern  Colorado,  along  the  White  River  and 
northward,  lies  the  sportsman’s  paradise,  now  reached  only 
by  a stage  drive  of  from  forty-five  to  ninety  miles  from 
the  little  town  of  Rifle  on  the  “ scenic  route  ” of  the  Denver 
and  Rio  Grande,  beyond  Glenwood  Springs.  Trapper’s 
Lake  and  the  Marvine  lakes  are  well  known,  and  the 
Marvine  Hunting  Lodge  is  a favorite  resort  of  English 
toui'ists. 

Estes  Park,  some  seventy  miles  from  Denver,  a favor- 
ite summer  resort,  is  a long,  narrow  plateau  of  two  or 
three  miles  in  width  and  fifteen  in  length,  a mile  and  a 
half  above  sea  level,  and  enclosed  in  mountain  walls  that 
tower  above  the  park  from  two  to  seven  thousand  feet. 
A swift  stream,  well  stocked  with  trout,  runs  through  the 
park.  The  four  great  systems  of  parks  divide  Colorado 
into  naturally  distinct  localities : North  Park,  with  an 
area  of  twenty-five  hundred  square  miles ; Middle  Park, 
with  its  three  thousand ; the  smaller  South  Park  of  one 
thousand;  and  San  Luis,  with  over  ninety-four  hundred 
square  miles,  — all,  in  the  aggregate,  presenting  a unique 
structural  plan.  Every  journey  in  Colorado  has  its  vista 
of  surprise.  No  artist  can  paint  its  panoramas.  Every 
traveller  in  this  Land  of  Enchantment  must  realize  that 
its  exhilaration  cannot  be  decanted  in  any  form.  It  is  a 
thing  that  lies  in  character,  moulding  life. 


156  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Colorado  is  the  Land  of  Achievement.  It  offers  re- 
sources totally  unsurpassed  in  the  entire  world  for  an 
unlimited  expanse.  These  resources  await  only  the  recog- 
nition  of  him  who  can  discern  the  psychological  moment 
for  their  development.  That  nothing  is  impossible  to 
him  who  wills  is  one  of  the  eternal  verities,  and  even 
the  expert  census  taker,  or  the  supernatural  tax  collector 
whom  nothing  escapes,  might  search  in  vain,  within 
the  limits  of  the  splendid  Centennial  State,  for  any 
man  who  fails  to  will.  The  resplendence  of  this  state  of 
stars  and  sunshine  is  due  to  this  blaze  of  human  energy. 
The  Coloradoans  are  the  typical  spirits  who  are  among 
those  elect 

“ . . . who  shall  arrive 
Prevailing  still ; 

Spirits  with  whom  the  stars  connive 
To  work  their  wilt” 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  157 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS 

“ Around  the  man  who  seeks  a noble  end 
Not  angelsy  hut  divinities  attend." 

“ In  the  deep  heart  of  man  a poet  dwells 
Who  all  the  day  of  life  his  summer  story  tells  ; 

Scatters  on  every  eye  dust  of  his  spells. 

Scent,  form,  and  color  : to  the  flowers  and  shells 
Wins  the  believing  child  with  wondrous  tales  ; 

Touches  a cheek  with  colors  of  romance. 

And  crowds  a history  into  a glance; 

Gives  beauty  to  the  lake  and  fountain. 

Spies  oversea  the  fires  of  the  mountain  ; 

When  thrushes  ope  their  throat,  't  is  he  that  sings. 

And  he  that  paints  the  oriole's  fiery  wings. 

The  little  Shakespeare  in  the  maiden's  heart 
Makes  Romeo  of  a plough-boy  on  his  cart ; 

Opens  the  eye  to  Virtue's  starlike  meed 
And  gives  persuasion  to  a gentle  deed." 

Emerson 

Not  even  the  starry  splendor  of  Colorado  skies  or  the 
untold  magic  of  the  atmosphere  vibrating  with  unwritten 
music,  pictorial  with  such  scenes  as  no  artist  ever  put  on 
canvas  ; not  even  the  scientific  achievements  in  feats  of 
civil  and  electrical  engineering  ; not  even  any  advance- 
ment of  the  arts  and  the  development  of  industi^es, 
commerce,  or  economics  that  bring  the  general  life  into 


158  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


increasing  harmony  with  the  physical  environment,  — 
none  of  these  things,  important  and  significant  as  they 
are,  touch  the  profoundest  interest  of  Colorado.  For  this 
supreme  interest  is  that  of  the  noble  men  and  women 
whose  lives  have  left  to  the  state  the  legacy  of  their  hopes, 
their  efforts,  their  earnestness,  and  their  faith.  “ Much  is 
made  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  who  landed  on  Plymouth 
Rock,”  editorially  remarked  the  “ Denver  Republican  ” in 
an  article  on  “ Pioneers’  Day,”  in  June  of  1906;  “and  if 
there  had  been  phonographs  in  those  days  to  preserve  the 
record  of  the  speech  of  one  of  those  old  fugitives  from 
European  persecution,  with  what  delight  the  men  and 
women  of  this  generation  would  listen  to  the  tones  which 
come  from  the  instrument ! But,  after  all,  were  the  Pil- 
grim Fathers,  canonized  by  nearly  three  hundred  years 
of  tradition,  any  braver,  any  more  venturesome,  any  more 
worthy  of  honor,  than  the  pioneers  who  fought  Indians 
and  struggled  against  adverse  fortune  of  every  kind  while 
they  laid  in  fear  and  hope  the  foundations  of  this  great 
state  ? ” 

Among  the  poems  of  Walt  Whitman  is  one  entitled 
“ The  Beginners,”  which  interprets  a high  quality  of  life. 
The  lines  are  as  follows  : 

“ How  they  are  provided  for  upon  the  earth  (appearing  at  intervals)  : 

How  dear  and  dreadful  they  are  to  the  earth  : 

Hbw  they  inure  to  themselves  as  much  as  to  any  — what  a paradox 
appears  this  age  : 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  159 


How  people  respond  to  them,  yet  know  them  not : 

How  there  is  something  relentless  in  their  fate,  all  times  : 

How  all  things  mischoose  the  object  of  their  adulation  and  reward, 
And  how  the  same  inexorable  price  must  still  be  paid  for  the  same 
great  purchase.  ” 

The  price  was  paid  by  the  pioneers  of  Colorado.  They 
poured  out  lavishly  all  their  hope,  their  indomitable 
energy,  their  patience,  which  was  faith,  as  well.  They 
planted,  knowing  that  not  to  themselves  would  come  the 
harvest.  They  builded  that  those  yet  to  come  might  have 
shelter.  They  gave  to  Colorado  such  an  endowment  of 
potent  but  invisible  force  that  its  momentum  pervades 
the  air  to-day.  The  accelerated  ratio  of  power  with  which 
spiritual  forces  proceed  defies  even  the  ablest  of  the 
statisticians. 

In  all  the  chapters  of  American  history  there  are  none 
more  thrilling  than  the  story  of  the  early  life  in  Colorado  ; 
there  are  no  chapters  that  more  vividly  demonstrate  the 
absolutely  present  and  practical  aid  of  the  divine  guid- 
ance of  God  acting  through  His  messengers,  — those  who 
have  lived  on  earth  and  have  gone  on  into  the  life  more 
abundant. 

The  lives  of  the  remarkable  men  and  women  who  have 
been  canonized  by  the  church  have  left  the  world  the  better 
for  their  being  and  humanity  the  richer  for  the  inheritance 
of  their  experience.  Their  history  is  not  to  be  held  merely 
as  tradition  or  as  superstition.  Let  one  visit  in  Italy 
Assisi,  the  home  of  St.  Francis;  Siena,  the  home  of  St. 


160  th£  land  of  enchantment 


Catherine,  and  follow  the  footsteps  of  others  whose  names 
enrich  the  church  calendar,  to  their  homes  and  haunts,  and 
their  record  becomes  vivid  and  vitalized  as,  to  a stranger 
visiting  Boston,  might  become  the  footsteps  of  her  noble 
and  consecrated  lives  which  are  yet  almost  within  univer- 
sal personal  remembrance  : the  lives  of  Lydia  Maria  Child, 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Emerson,  Whittier,  Lucy  Stone, 
Lowell,  Mary  A.  Livermore,  James  Freeman  Clarke,  and 
Phillips  Brooks,  — men  and  women  whom  Boston  may 
well  hold  as  her  prophets  and  her  saints.  They,  too, 
were  of  the  order  of  “ The  Beginners.”  They  sowed  the 
seeds  of  the  higher  life.  They  were  receptive  to  all  high 
counsels  from  the  ethereal  world,  from  the  divine  realms  ; 
they  listened  to  great  truths  which  the  multitude  did  not 
hear,  and  they  gave  it  anew  by  voice  and  by  pen,  till  all 
the  world  might  hear  and  read  and  receive  it.  They  were, 
indeed,  — 

“ God’s  prophets  of  the  Beautiful.” 

Such  persons  were  living  a twofold  life  during  their  entire 
earthly  pilgrimage,  and  we  may  well  recall  their  lives  and 
link  them  with  those  of  the  great  and  the  holy  men  and 
women  of  all  ages  and  all  climes. 

The  pathfinders  of  human  progress  do  not  live  for  per- 
sonal ease,  — 

“ The  hero  is  not  fed  on  sweets.” 

These  are  royal  natures,  who  come  into  the  world  not  to 
enjoy  ease  and  prosperity,  but  who  bring  with  them  the 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  161 


high  destiny  of  sacrifice.  Their  lives  are  companioned 
with  struggle  and  conflict.  Of  such  experiences  as  theirs 
well  might  be  asked  the  question  so  impressively  conveyed 
in  these  noble  lines  by  America’s  great  woman  poet,  — 
our  poet  who  sang  the  song  of  the  nation’s  “ Battle- 
Hymn,” — Julia  Ward  Howe: 

“ What  hast  thou  for  thy  scattered  seed, 

O Sower  of  the  plain  ? 

Where  are  the  many  gathered  sheaves 
Thy  hope  should  bring  again  ? ” 

“ The  only  record  of  my  work 
Lies  in  the  buried  grain.” 

“ O Conqueror  of  a thousand  fields  ! 

In  dinted  armor  dight, 

What  growths  of  purple  amaranth 
Shall  crown  thy  brow  of  might  ? ” 

“ Only  the  blossom  of  my  life 
Flung  widely  in  the  fight.  ” 

“ What  is  the  harvest  of  thy  saints, 

O God  ! who  dost  abide  ? 

Where  grow  the  garlands  of  thy  chiefs 
In  blood  and  sorrow  dyed  ? 

What  have  thy  servants  for  their  pains  ? ” 

“ This  only  — to  have  tried.” 

These  Shining  Ones  are  on  earth  to  serve  as  co-workers 
with  the  divine  power;  to  serve  through  good  fortune  or 
ill  fortune ; through  evil  report  or  good  report,  — still  to 
serve ; still  to  follow  The  Gleam.  These  are  the  men  who 

“ . . . make  the  world  within  their  reach 
Somewhat  the  better  for  their  being 
And  gladder  for  their  human  speech.” 

11 


162  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


The  names  of  many  of  these  heroic  pioneers  of  Colorado 
may  be  unwritten  save  in  the  pages  of  the  Recording 
Angel ; but  they  live  and  are  immortal  in  the  influence 
they  have  left  as  a heritage  to  succeeding  generations, 
in  the  trains  of  thought  and  purposes  they  initiated,  and 
in  all  that  potent  power  of  generous  aims  and  noble 
ideals,  — for  all  advancing  civilization  rests  on  lofty  ideals. 
“ While  the  basis  of  civilization  must  be  material,”  says 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Gordon  Ames  of  Boston,  “ its  life 
must  be  spiritual.  Its  end  and  object  must  be  the  soul, 
and  not  the  body  ; and  it  will  provide  all  best  things  for 
the  body,  that  the  soul  may  be  worthily  housed  and 
served.  The  higher  and  chief  interests  of  society  will 
always  be  intellectual,  affectional,  aspirational  — human 
and  humane.  The  true,  the  beautiful,  and  the  good  — 
almost  unfinown  to  the  barbarian,  and  often  mocked  at  by 
the  Philistines  of  modern  society  — will  be  sought  for  as 
men  seek  for  gold  and  pearls  of  great  price.  Wealth  will 
bring  its  offering  to  the  altars  of  education  and  art  and 
worship.  Science,  as  it  searches  the  worlds  of  matter  and 
of  mind,  will  find  new  and  sacred  parables  and  gospels  of 
grace.  Learning  will  be  a priestess  of  truth.  The  im- 
agination of  man  will  wander  and  wander  in  the  wide 
creation,  free,  fearless,  and  glad,  knowing  that  the  Father’s 
house  is  everywhere,  and  that  his  child  may  be  everywhere 
at  home.” 

In  many  of  the  pioneer  households  of  Colorado,  whether 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  163 


those  of  plenty  or  of  privation,  the  children  had  the  ines- 
timable advantage  of  the  refined  and  beautiful  atmosphere 
of  a home  in  which  high  ideals  and  lofty  devotion  to  in- 
tellectual progress  and  spiritual  culture  prevailed.  If 
schools  were  insufficient,  there  were  the  trained  educational 
methods  of  both  the  father  and  the  mother  under  which 
they  were  reared  and  taught ; and  poverty  of  purse  cannot 
greatly  matter  where  there  is  no  poverty  of  the  spirit. 

Well  may  these  pioneers  of  Colorado  be  held  as  belong- 
ing to  that  order  of  humanity  which  the  poet  calls  “ The 
Beginners.”  Some  of  them  were  unlettered  and  untaught 
save  in  the  great  school  of  life  itself ; some  of  them  were 
rich  in  learning  and  culture  ; but  they  all  shared  in  common 
a devotion  to  progress  differing  only  in  degree  or  concep- 
tion : they  shared  common  sacrifices  ; they  gave  their  best 
energies  to  the  development  of  a great  and  beautiful  state 
whose  increasing  rate  of  progress  is  to  them  an  immortal 
monument.  These  leaders  of  humanity  whom  the  poet  so 
finely  characterizes  as  “ The  Beginners  ” are  an  order  of 
people  always  appearing  on  earth.  They  are  of  those 
who  hear  the  Song  in  the  air  and  behold  the  Star  in  the 
sky.  They  are  the  persons  who  discern  — and  follow  — 
The  Gleam.  Their  lives  are  rich  in  service  and  sacrifice. 
Their  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  Their  lives  are  not 
unfrequently  cheerless  and  cold,  but  on  their  altar  fires 
glows  the  living  coal  sent  down  from  heaven.  They  fast 
that  others  may  feast.  They  accept  privations  that  others 


164  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


may  revel  in  possessions.  They  pay  the  inexorable  price 
for  the  same  great  purchase.  They  are  those  who  are  sent 
on  earth  peculiarly  set  apart  to  co-operate  with  God  in  the 
larger  fulfilment  of  the  divine  laws.  They  pay  the  inex- 
orable price  of  toil  and  labor  and  sorrow  and  sacrifice. 
They  rise  into  the  everlasting  triumph  and  the  beauty  and 
the  joy  of  spirituality  of  life.  They  give  all  for  this ; they 
find  all  in  it.  But  let  no  one  resign  his  hopes  or  his 
dreams.  Let  no  one  doubt,  for  an  instant,  that  all  of 
goodness  and  beauty  and  sweetness  and  joy  that  he  longs 
for  is  on  its  way  toward  him.  It  is  only  a question  of 
time.  Let  him  be  patient,  which  is  not  a mere  passive  and 
negative  condition,  but  one  full  of  intense  activities  and 
serene  poise  ; let  him  be  patient  and  believing,  and  make 
room  in  his  life  for  that  immortal  joy  which  no  man  taketh 
from  him. 

The  town  of  Greeley,  with  its  felicitous  location  mid- 
way between  the  two  state  capitals,  Denver  and  Cheyenne, 
fifty  miles  from  each,  and  which  is  already  the  principal 
town  of  Northern  Colorado  as  Pueblo  is  of  the  southern 
part  of  the  state,  has  a romantic  and  thrilling  story 
connected  with  its  founding.  In  the  history  of  Colorado, 
among  the  many  men  whose  lives  stand  out  in  noble  pre- 
eminence, was  that  of  the  founder  of  Greeley,  Hon.  Nathan 
Cook  Meeker,  whose  personal  life  is  inseparably  associated 
with  the  interesting  town  which  owes  to  him  its  origin. 

The  Meekers  trace  their  ancestry  to  men  who  went  to 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  165 


England  from  Antwerp  about  1500.  In  1639  Robert 
and  William  Meeker  came  to  this  country  and  settled 
in  New  Haven.  Thirty  years  later  William  Meeker  re- 
moved to  New  Jersey,  and  the  town  of  Elizabeth  was 
founded  by  him  and  named  for  his  wife.  He  was  a 
leader  in  the  affairs  of  the  day,  held  prominent  office,  and 
in  1690  he  died,  leaving  the  old  Meeker  homestead  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  which  is  still  in  the  possession  of 
his  descendants.  One  of  his  sons  was  Joseph  Meeker,  also 
prominent  in  promoting  the  conditions  of  progress,  and 
he  was  the  grandfather  of  Nathan  Cook  Meeker,  the  foun- 
der of  Greeley,  who  inherited  the  qualities  that  have  made 
the  family  a marked  one  in  America.  When  he  was  but 
seventeen  he  carried  on  an  extensive  correspondence  with 
Henry  Clay,  John  Tyler,  George  D.  Prentice,  and  other 
noted  men  of  the  day,  discussing  with  them  subjects  of 
importance,  and  he  was  a contributor  even  in  these  early 
years  to  the  ‘‘  Louisville  Journal,”  then  edited  by  George 
D.  Prentice,  and  now  the  “ Courier-Journal,”  edited  by 
the  brilliant  Colonel  Henry  Watterson  ; to  the  New  Or- 
leans “ Picayune,”  and  other  leading  papers.  Even  in  his 
early  youth  Mr.  Meeker  seems  to  have  been  a man  of  per- 
petual aspiration  and  honorable  ambition  carried  out  to 
achievement,  and  by  means  of  his  own  energy  and  per- 
sistence he  graduated  in  1810  from  Oberlin  College, 
became  a teacher,  and  later  (for  literary  work  was  his 
dominant  gift)  became  a regular  contributor  to  the  “ New 


166  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


York  Mirror,”  edited  by  N.  P.  Willis,  the  poet,  and  the 
most  brilliant  man  of  letters  of  his  day.  Mr.  Meeker 
wrote  both  prose  and  poetry,  — essays,  romance,  and 
verse  alike  flowing  from  his  facile  pen.  He  is  the  author 
of  three  books,  one  of  which  he  dedicated  to  President 
Pierce,  and  which  is  in  the  Boston  Public  Library  among 
the  choice  and  rare  works  not  allowed  for  general  cir- 
culation but  kept  intact  for  the  special  use  of  scholars 
and  researchers.  He  became  one  of  the  leading  writers  of 
the  day  on  sociology,  advancing  many  ideas  which  are 
to-day  maintained  by  thoughtful  students  of  the  ques- 
tions involved  in  this  subject. 

Founding  towns  seemed  to  “ run  in  the  family,”  and 
even  as  his  great-grandfather  founded  the  town  of 
Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  so  Nathan  Cook  Meeker  felt  the 
impulse  to  stamp  his  own  strong  and  progressive  indi- 
viduality on  new  communities.  He  became  the  secretary 
and  librarian  (in  1844)  of  the  Ohio  Trumbull  Phalanx,  a 
colony  founded  to  realize  in  practical  form  the  theories 
of  Fourier,  and  somewhat  similar  to  the  famous  Brook 
Farm  experiment.  Mr.  Meeker  also  co-operated  in  found- 
ing the  Western  Reserve  Institute,  of  which,  many  years 
afterward,  Hon.  James  A.  Garfield  became  president. 

About  this  time  he  married  Arvilla  Delight,  a daugh- 
ter of  Levi  Smith  of  Connecticut  and  a descendant  of 
Elder  Brewster ; a woman  whose  singular  force,  exaltation, 
and  beauty  of  character  may  be  traced  through  a notable 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  167 


New  England  ancestry.  The  family  soon  removed  to 
the  Western  Reserve  in  Ohio.  Mrs.  Meeker  had  been 
known  in  her  sweet  girlhood  as  the  beauty  of  the  town. 
She  was  a woman  of  exceptional  refinement  and  culture ; 
for  many  years  a teacher,  and,  more  than  all,  of  a spirit- 
uality of  character  that  added  to  her  life  its  dignity  and 
grace. 

The  spell  of  destiny,  the  burden  always  laid  upon  “ The 
Beginners,*”  seemed  to  be  on  Nathan  Cook  and  Arvilla 
Delight  Meeker ; for  no  history  of  the  work  of  the  hus- 
band could  be  written  that  did  not  include  that  of  the 
wife.  Like  Nathaniel  and  Sophia  Hawthorne,  their  lives 
were  conjoined  in  that  perfect  mutual  response  of  spiritual 
sympathy  which  alone  makes  the  mystic  marriage  a divine 
sacrament. 

Horace  Greeley  became  interested  in  Mr.  Meeker*’s  work 
and  invited  him  to  a place  on  the  editorial  staff  of  ‘‘  The 
Tribune, *’*’  a position  which  he  filled  with  conspicuous 
ability  for  several  years ; but  in  common  with  all  ideal- 
ists, Mr.  Meeker  was  haunted  and  beset  by  his  visions  of 
a more  Utopian  future  for  humanity.  A Colorado  jour- 
nal, recently  giving  some  reminiscences  of  the  life  of  its 
great  citizen,  said  : 

the  fall  of  1869  Mr.  Meeker  made  a trip  to  the  West 
for  the  ^ Tribune,’  writing  interesting  letters  by  the  way. 
On  his  return  to  New  York  he  was  full  of  the  idea  of  estab- 


168  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


lishing  a colony  in  Colorado.  He  mentioned  his  ambition  to 
John  Russell  Young,  who  talked  it  over  with  Mr.  Greeley, 
and  that  gi’eat  man,  at  the  first  opportunity,  said  to  the  re- 
turned correspondent : ^ I understand  you  wish  to  lead  a 
colony  to  Colorado.’  When  Mr.  Meeker  answered  ^ Yes,’ 
Greeley  added,  ‘ I think  it  would  be  a great  success.  Go 
ahead;  ^^The  Tribune”  will  stand  by  you.’ 

With  such  encouragement  Mr.  Meeker  spent  the  follow- 
ing day  in  MTiting  the  article  announcing  his  purpose  and 
outlining  the  plan  which  w^as  afterwards  adopted  as  the  con- 
stitution of  the  colony.  Mr.  Greeley  suggested  a few  minor 
changes,  after  which  the  article  was  printed  and  kept  in  type 
for  a week,  in  order,  as  its  author  said,  ^ that  there  might 
be  due  reflection  and  no  haste.’  It  was  published  in  the 
'Tribune’  of  December  14-,  1869,  with  an  editorial  indorse- 
ment of  the  plan  and  its  originator.  Nine  days  later  the 
colony  was  organized,  and  yet  in  that  short  time  more  than 
a thousand  letters  had  been  received  in  answer  to  the 
article.  On  the  loth  of  the  next  April  the  certificate  of 
organization  of  'The  Union  Colony  of  Greeley’  "was  filed 
for  record.” 

In  less  extended  detail  some  outline  of  the  life  of  the 
founder  of  Greeley,  the  “ Garden  City  of  Colorado,  has 
already  been  narrated  by  the  writer  in  a previous  book  ; ^ 
but  no  adequate  reference  can  be  made  to  the  state  in 
which  Mr.  Meeker’s  life  and  work  remains  as  so  remark- 

1 The  Life  Radiant  : Little,  Brown,  & Company,  1903. 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  169 


able  a contribution  and  so  fundamental  a factor,  which 
does  not  present  in  full  the  story  of  his  relation  to  its 
development;  and  the  matter  is  thus  presented  even  at 
the  risk  of  some  minor  repetitions. 

In  the  spring  of  1870  Mr.  Meeker  led  his  colony  to 
Colorado.  The  colonists  wished  to  give  the  town  the  name 
of  its  founder,  but  he  himself  insisted  that  it  should  bear 
the  name  of  Greeley,  after  the  great  editor  of  the  “ Trib- 
une,” of  whose  staff  he  was  still  a member.  Into  all 
the  sacrifice  and  the  hardships  of  this  pioneer  life  Mrs. 
Meeker,  a woman  gently  born  and  bred,  entered  with  the 
utmost  heroism.  From  the  very  inception  the  undertak- 
ing was  a signal  success.  But  Mr.  Meeker  conceived  of 
still  another  extension  of  his  activities  in  the  problem 
then  so  prominently  before  the  country,  — the  civilization 
of  the  Indians.  He  was  appointed  agent  of  the  northern 
Utes,  in  possession  of  the  great  park  region  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  on  White  River.  To  it  he  went  in  the  same 
spirit  in  which  General  Armstrong  entered  on  his  work  at 
Hampton.  He  had  matured  certain  theories  regarding 
the  proper  treatment  of  the  Indians,  in  bringing  them 
within  the  pale  of  the  civilized  arts,  — theories  so  wise,  so 
just,  so  humane,  that  they  might  be  studied  with  advan- 
tage. These  theories  he  put  to  the  test.  His  youngest 
daughter,  a beautiful  and  gifted  girl,  opened  a free  school 
for  teaching  the  Indians.  His  wife  united  with  him  in 
every  kindly  and  gracious  act  by  which  he  strove  to  win 


170  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


the  confidence  of  the  race.  This  kindness  and  gentleness 
was  unmeasured.  The  family  lived  a life  of  constant  sac- 
rifice and  effort  for  the  education  and  training  of  the  Utes. 
But  the  Indian  nature  is  one  that  wreaks  its  revenge,  — 
not  necessarily  on  the  aggressor,  but  on  the  first  comer. 
Other  agents  had  been  lax,  and  a number  of  causes  of  dis- 
content to  which  allusion  cannot  here  be  made  fanned  the 
smouldering  fire.  Their  chief  complaints  were  that  they 
were  required  to  work,  and  to  abandon  a bit  of  pasturage, 
only  a few  acres,  for  the  new  agency  grounds  and  gardens. 
Events  drew  on  like  the  fates  in  a Greek  tragedy,  and  on 
the  morning  of  September  29,  1879,  Mr.  Meeker  was 
cruelly  massacred. 

The  little  town  of  Meeker  marks  the  site  of  the 
Meeker  massacre.  Here  is  a little  village  of  a thousand 
inhabitants,  located  on  White  River,  among  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  the  mountain  ranges,  — the  location  being  very 
much  like  that  of  Florence,  in  Italy,  — which  is  the  centre 
of  a very  rich  agricultural  and  grazing  region.  Meeker  is 
now  forty-five  miles  from  a railroad,  the  nearest  station 
being  Rifle,  on  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande,  a few  miles 
from  Glenwood  Springs ; but  the  Moffet  road  brings  to 
it  railroad  connection  with  Denver.  There  is  an  exten- 
sive stage  line  of  over  one  hundred  miles,  starting  from 
Rifle  and  going  on  through  Meeker  up  into  the  moun- 
tains, where  the  hunting  attracts  a great  number  of 
travellers,  and  especially  many  Englishmen.  It  is  in 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  171 

this  region  that  President  Roosevelt’s  happy  hunting- 
grounds  lie,  and  he  is  a familiar  and  favorite  figure  in 
Meeker. 

There  is  a little  gray-stone  Episcopal  church  among 
other  churches  that  adorn  this  town,  which  has  laid  out  a 
handsome  park  and  which  has  the  perpetual  adornment  of 
the  beautiful  river  that  flows  through  it.  The  mountains 
about  supply  streams  that  make  irrigation  easy,  and  the 
great  fields  of  wheat,  potatoes,  and  alfalfa  are  fertile  and 
prosperous.  Irrigation  makes  it  everywhere  possible  to 
control  the  climatic  conditions. 

Meeker  is  the  county  seat  of  Rio  Blanco  County,  in 
which  uranium  has  been  discovered  in  two  different 
places ; and  two  oil  wells,  each  at  a cost  of  four  thousand 
dollars,  a creamery,  costing  nearly  six  thousand  dollars, 
and  water-works  at  a cost  of  sixty  thousand  dollars,  have 
been  established  within  the  past  two  years.  Fifteen  res- 
ervoirs and  eighty  miles  of  irrigation  ditches  were  con- 
structed in  1905,  and  in  that  year  was  harvested,  in  this 
county,  a quarter  of  a million  bushels  of  wheat,  oats,  and 
rye. 

The  basis  on  which  Greeley  was  founded  is  thus  out- 
lined in  the  official  documents  drawn  up  by  Nathan 
Cook  Meeker: 

“ I propose  to  unite  with  proper  persons  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a Union  colony  in  Colorado  territory.  A location 
which  I have  seen  is  well  watered  with  streams  and  springs ; 


172  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


there  are  beautiful  pine  groves,  the  soil  is  rich,  the  climate 
healthful,  grass  will  keep  stock  the  year  round,  coal  and 
stone  are  plentiful,  and  a well-travelled  road  runs  through 
the  property.” 

Mr.  Meeker  proceeded  to  note  the  cost  of  the  land,  — 
eighteen  dollars  for  every  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  — 
and  he  especially  called  attention  — for  he  had  the  poet’s 
eye  — to  the  grandeur  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  scenery,  and 
he  added : 

The  persons  with  whom  I would  be  willing  to  associate 
must  be  temperance  men  and  ambitious  to  establish  good  soci- 
ety, and  among  as  many  as  fifty,  ten  should  have  as  much  as 
ten  thousand  dollars  each,  or  twenty  should  have  five  thou- 
sand dollars  each,  while  others  may  have  from  two  hundred 
dollars  to  one  thousand  dollars  and  upward.  For  many  to  go 
so  far  without  means  could  only  result  in  disaster.” 

The  practical  wisdom  of  this  clause  will  be  appreciated. 
The  true  idealist  is  the  most  practical  and  wisest  of  coun- 
sellors. It  is  only  false  idealism  that  leads  to  destruction. 
Mr.  Meeker  s idea  was  to  make  the  settlement  a village, 
with  ample  building  lots,  and  then  to  apportion  to  each 
family  from  forty  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  outside 
for  agriculture. 

On  such  a basis  as  this  the  Union  Colony  of  Greeley  was 
founded.  A constitution  was  adopted  that  is  a model  of 
the  condensation  of  the  duties  of  good  citizenship.  In- 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  173 


dustry,  temperance,  education,  and  religion  were  the  pillars 
on  which  the  superstructure  was  raised.  It  is  little  wonder 
that  the  social  quality  of  Greeley  to-day  — thirty-six 
years  after  its  inauguration  as  a community  — is  of  the 
highest  type  and  exceptional  among  all  the  cities  of  the 
United  States. 

Irrigation  was  the  first  necessity.  A canal  thirty  miles 
long  was  dug,  costing  sixty  thousand  dollars.  The  Cache 
la  Poudre  was  first  examined  and  then  tapped  to  furnish 
water.  The  elevation  of  the  surrounding  high  bluffs  se- 
cured the  needed  descent  for  the  flow  of  water.  The  life 
began. 

Greeley  is  now  a town  of  some  seven  thousand  inhab- 
itants ; the  seat  of  the  State  Normal  College,  which  its 
president.  Dr.  Z.  X.  Snyder,  has  made  one  of  the  great 
educational  institutions,  not  only  of  Colorado,  but  of  the 
United  States  ; a college  that  draws  students  from  almost 
every  section,  even  from  New  England,  so  able  is  President 
Snyder’s  course  of  instruction  and  so  admirable  are  the 
opportunities  it  affords  for  subsequent  connection  with 
the  fine  public  school  system  in  Colorado.  A position 
in  any  of  these  offers  a higher  salary  than  can  be  ob- 
tained in  the  East,  to  say  nothing  of  many  other  advan- 
tages associated  with  the  work.  Dr.  Snyder  was  one  of 
the  eminent  educators  of  the  East ; and  when  some  six- 
teen years  since  he  accepted  his  present  responsible  office, 
he  brought  to  it  the  best  traditions  of  Eastern  culture 


174  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

and  united  them  with  the  zeal  and  freedom  and  infinite 
energy  of  the  West.  The  Normal  campus  of  forty  acres 
on  high  ground,  overlooking  the  town,  with  President 
Snyder  s residence  in  the  grounds  and  other  college  build- 
ings near,  comprise  a beautiful  feature  of  Greeley.  The 
western  view,  both  from  the  college  and  from  the  home 
of  President  and  Mrs.  Snyder,  over  the  mountain  range 
including  Long’s  Peak,  is  one  of  almost  incomparable 
beauty.  The  faculty  of  the  State  Normal  comprises  thirty 
specialists;  there  is  a library  of  thirty  thousand  vol- 
umes ; the  laboratory  has  the  latest  scientific  equipment 
of  the  day ; the  art  department  and  the  music  course  are 
admirably  conducted ; French,  German,  and  Italian  are 
taught  according  to  the  latest  language  methods ; and 
athletics,  domestic  science,  nature  studies,  all  receive  due 
recognition.  The  Training  School  ” of  the  State  Nor- 
mal College  has  an  attendance  of  nearly  five  hundred,  and 
the  graduates  of  this  institution  begin  work  on  salaries 
ranging  from  five  hundred  to  twenty-five  hundred  dol- 
lars annually.  The  tuition  is  free  to  all  citizens  of 
Colorado. 

The  many  churches,  the  excellent  public  schools,  the 
clubs  and  societies  for  social  enjoyment  and  improvement, 
indicate  the  high  quality  of  life  in  Greeley.  There  are 
three  newspapers ; and  of  these  the  “ Greeley  Tribune,” 
founded  by  Mr.  Meeker  and  now  under  the  able  editor- 
ship of  Mr.  C.  H.  Wolfe,  has  created  for  itself  more  than 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  175 


a local  reputation.  Financially,  Greeley  stands  well,  with 
its  several  banks  and  its  solidity  of  resources. 

There  is  hardly  a shabby  house  to  be  found  in  all 
the  town,  whether  of  residence  or  business.  Every  build- 
ing has  a neat  and  thrifty  aspect,  and  the  art  of  archi- 
tecture has  been  especially  studied,  for  almost  without 
exception  every  house,  whether  large  or  small,  is  tasteful 
and  attractive.  A bay  window  is  thrown  out  here,  a little 
balcony  there,  a piazza,  a loggia,  an  oriel  window,  and  the 
eye  is  gratified.  But,  besides  this  dainty  and  tasteful 
architecture,  the  one  great  feature  of  Greeley  is  her  beau- 
tiful streets.  These  are  due  directly  to  the  taste  and 
the  direction  of  the  founder,  Mr.  Meeker.  The  streets 
are  one  hundred  feet  wide,  lined  invariably  — every  street 
in  the  town  — with  a double  row  of  shade  trees,  giving 
coolness,  beauty,  and  contributing  much  to  the  modifica- 
tion of  the  temperature.  Every  deed  granted  in  Greeley 
forbids  the  sale  of  any  intoxicating  liquor.  There  is  not 
a saloon  in  the  place.  There  is  not  a loafer  or  a crim- 
inal, nor  are  there  any  poor  in  the  unfortunate  sense  of 
the  large  cities.  No  police  are  needed.  The  jail  is 
locally  known  as  a mere  ornamental  appendage  to  the 
fine  forty  thousand  dollar  courthouse. 

For  many  years  it  has  been  felt  that  some  expression 
should  be  made  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  the  founder  of 
Greeley,  and  this  has  now  taken  form  in  the  project  for 
the  ‘‘  Meeker  Memorial  Library,”  which  is  in  preparation. 


176  THE  LAXD  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


The  beautiful  young  city  is  itself,  however,  the  best  me- 
morial of  its  noble  founder.  It  is  a living  monument  of 
perpetually  increasing  gi’eatness  and  beauty ; and  who 
to-day  can  wander  under  the  shade  of  the  beautiful  trees 
which  in  a double  row  line  every  street  and  boulevard  — 
trees  planted  in  1870  under  Mr.  Meeker’s  personal 
superintendence  — without  hearing  amid  the  rustle  of 
their  whispering  leaves  the  poet’s  words,  that  fall  like  a 
benediction  : 

Be  of  good  cheer,  brave  spirit ; steadfastly 
Serve  that  low  whisper  thou  hast  served  ; for  know, 

God  hath  a select  family  of  sons 

Now  scattered  wide  thro’  earth,  and  each  alone. 

Who  are  thy  spiritual  kindred,  and  each  one 
By  constant  service  to  that  inward  law. 

Is  weaving  the  sublime  proportions 

Of  a true  monarch’s  soul.  Beauty  and  strength. 

The  riches  of  a spotless  memory. 

The  eloquence  of  truth,  the  wisdom  got 

By  searching  of  a clear  and  loving  eye 

That  seeth  as  God  seeth.  These  are  their  gifts. 

And  Time,  who  keeps  God’s  word,  brings  on  the  day 
To  seal  the  marriage  of  these  minds  with  thine. 

Thine  everlasting  lovers.  Ye  shall  be 

The  salt  of  all  the  elements,  world  of  the  world.” 

The  glamour  of  romance  can  never  fade  from  Colorado, 
vliose  entire  history  is  one  of  heroic  deeds  and  splendid 
energy  ; but  the  primitive  stage  of  the  state  is  already  left 
far  behind  with  the  nineteenth  century.  In  its  intellectual 
and  scientific  development  the  years  of  the  twentieth  cen- 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  177 


turj  have  almost  exceeded  its  twenty-four  years  of  life  as 
a state  in  the  nineteenth.  The  tide  of  immigration  still 
continues,  but  from  being  the  objective  point  of  mining 
activities  where  fortune  hunters  rushed  to  find  a royal  road 
to  riches,  it  is  now  a state  of  agriculture  and  of  commerce. 
Social  conditions  are  thus  altered ; and  though  some  of 
these  conditions  are  those  of  mining  regions,  as  in  the 
Cripple  Creek  district,  they  have  altered  from  the  typical 
Bret  Harte  mining-camp  life  to  those  of  orderly  progress, 
— to  the  life  dominated  by  twentieth-century  ideals  of 
humanity  ; the  life  whose  framework  is  seen  in  public- 
school  systems,  in  religious  observance,  in  the  liberal 
reading  of  periodical  and  other  literature,  and  in  the 
maintenance  of  public  libraries  as  a necessity  in  every 
community. 

The  dawn  of  literary  and  artistic  development  in  Colo- 
rado is  very  evident,  — a dawn  that  is  already  of  such 
radiant  promise  as  to  forecast  the  day  when  this  state  shall 
contribute  to  our  greatest  national  literature.  A large 
number  of  individual  writers  could  already  be  named 
whose  work  in  books,  magazine  articles,  and  excellent 
journalism  might  well  be  held  as  typical  of  the  best  cul- 
ture of  the  entire  country.  The  first  wild  turmoil  of  a 
new  and  richly  varied  state  has  given  way  to  a prosperous, 
progressive  commonwealth.  Material  progress  must  still 
always  precede  the  higher  growth,  yet  the  air  is  vital  with 
ideas,  and  the  vision  of  Colorado  is  always  toward  the 

12 


178  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


stars.  The  beauty  and  majesty  of  the  environment  cannot 
but  react  upon  the  people.  The  growth  of  women’s  clubs 
has  been  one  steady  factor  of  progress,  with  most  favorable 
effect  on  all  the  general  life  of  intellectual  and  moral 
advancement.  The  public  libraries  in  every  centre  estab- 
lish and  develop  the  reading  habit.  While  a love  for 
beauty  is  an  element  in  human  life,  the  influence  of  the 
transcendent  majesty  and  incomparable  sublimity  of  the 
Colorado  scenery  will  continue  to  prove  a source  of  inspi- 
ration to  the  mental  and  moral  life  of  the  people.  The 
changing  colors  of  the  mountains  are  a constant  delight. 
Colorado  offers  a perpetual  feast  of  beauty.  Her  resources 
are  infinite.  Colorado  combines  all  the  exaltation  of  the 
untried  with  an  abundance  of  the  conveniences  and  luxuries 
of  the  older  civilization  ; and  of  this  Centennial  State  it  is 
difficult  to  record  facts  and  statistics  that  do  not  seem  to 
suggest  the  tales  of  a thousand  nights.  With  resources 
and  with  scenic  loveliness  which  no  language  could  exag- 
gerate, it  is  still  only  to  those  who  themselves  know  and 
appreciate  the  grandeur  of  this  state  that  any  interpreta- 
tion of  it  will  appear  as  rather  within  than  as  at  all 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  most  statistical  and  demonstrable 
facts.  The  East  has  already  outgrown  the  tradition  that 
the  entire  trans-Mississippi  region  is  a howling  wilderness. 
Colorado  is  no  longer  as  vague  as  is  Calcutta  to  the  aver- 
age mind.  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale  exclaimed  that  he 
desired  his  sons  to  know  that  there  was  something  in  the 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  179 


world  besides  Beacon  Street,  and  this  ambition  has  of  late 
years  become  too  prevalent  to  leave  even  the  extreme 
East  in  any  absolute  and  total  ignorance  of  the  wonderful 
West.  Still  it  may  be  true  that  the  flying  visions  from 
Pullman-car  windows  are  marvellously  extended  and  inten- 
sified by  increasing  familiarity  with  the  almost  incredibly 
swift  progress  of  this  region. 

A typical  illustration  of  the  fallibility  of  human  judg- 
ment is  seen  in  the  attitude  taken  in  1838  by  the  great 
Daniel  Webster  on  the  floor  of  the  United  States  Senate 
against  an  appropriation  for  a post  route  west  of  the 
Missouri  River. 

“What  do  we  want,”  said  he,  “of  this  vast  worthless 
area,  — this  region  of  savages  and  wild  beasts,  of  deserts, 
shifting  sands,  and  whirlwinds  of  dust,  of  cactus  and  prairie 
dogs  ? To  what  use  could  we  ever  hope  to  put  these  great 
deserts,  or  these  endless  mountain  ranges,  impregnable  and 
covered  to  their  base  with  eternal  snow  ? What  use  have 
we  for  such  a country  ? Mr.  President,  I will  never  vote 
one  cent  from  the  public  treasury  to  place  the  Pacific  Coast 
one  inch  nearer  Boston  than  it  is  to-day.” 

It  is  a far  cry  from  this  “ vast  worthless  area,”as  Mr.  Web- 
ster termed  it  in  1838,  to  the  grand  and  richly  promising 
state  of  to-day,  with  its  splendid  young  cities  where  art  and 
science  unite  with  literature  and  ethics  in  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  social  progress  ; with  its  mountain  ranges  climbed 
in  palace  cars  ; its  electric  transit  and  electric  lighting  ; its 


180  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


vivid  and  forceful  achievements,  that  even  in  each  decade 
concentrate  the  progress  of  a century,  as  seen  in  the  past. 

It  is  not  a mere  vagary,  but  rather  a practical  and 
momentous  fact,  that  Colorado  is  peculiarly  the  realm 
receptive  to  invisible  potencies  and  mental  impressions. 
Science  is  now  confronted  with  the  question  as  to  whether 
thought  and  electricity  may  be  identified  as  the  same  force 
under  different  degrees  of  manifestation.  “There  is  an 
elemental  essence  — a strange  living  force  — which  sur- 
rounds us  on  every  side,  and  which  is  singularly  susceptible 
to  the  influence  of  human  thought,’’  says  an  English  sci- 
entist, and  he  continues  : “ This  essence  responds  with  the 
most  wonderful  delicacy  to  tlie  faintest  action  of  our  minds 
or  desires  ; and  this  being  so,  it  is  interesting  to  note  how  it 
is  affected  when  the  human  mind  formulates  a definite 
thought  or  desire.”  All  the  significance  of  a thousand 
years  may  be  concentrated  in  an  instant’s  thought,  as 
all  the  heat  stored  up  in  all  the  forests  of  the  world  is 
concentrated  in  a small  quantity  of  radium.  Emerson 
embodies  this  truth  in  the  stanza  : 

“ His  instant  thought  a poet  spoke, 

And  filled  the  age  his  fame  ; 

An  inch  of  ground  the  lightning  strook 
But  lit  the  sky  with  flame.  ” 

It  is  intensity,  not  duration,  that  is  of  consequence,  and 
that  determines  results.  To  state  that  there  is  something 
in  the  Colorado  air  that  incites  active  and  lofty  thought ; 


THE  COLORADO  PIONEERS  181 


that  uplifts  the  soul  and  enables  one  to  discern  the  prac- 
tical processes  for  identifying  the  most  marvellous  scenic 
grandeur  of  the  civilized  world  with  the  most  advanced 
processes  of  applied  industries,  is  to  state  a simple  fact. 
Phillips  Brooks  once  said: 

" I know  no  ideal  humanity  that  is  not  filled  and  pervaded 
with  the  superhuman.  God  in  man  is  not  unnatural,  but  the 
absolutely  natural.  That  is  what  the  incarnation  makes  us 
know.  . . . The  truths  of  heaven  and  the  truths  of  earth  are 
in  perfect  sympathy.  . . . The  needs  of  human  nature  are 
supreme,  and  have  a right  to  the  divinest  help.” 

The  early  explorers  and  pioneers  in  Colorado  felt  this 
truth,  so  finely  stated  by  Bishop  Brooks,  even  if  they  did 
not  formulate  it  in  words.  The  apparently  insuperable 
obstacles  of  a land  where  the  desert  disputed  the  space 
with  the  Titanic  mountain  ranges  piled  against  the  sky, 
incited  them  to  effort  rather  than  paralyzed  their  energy. 
It  is  fitting  that  this  most  ideal  state,  rich  in  resources  of 
almost  undreamed-of  variety  and  importance,  should  pre- 
sent a significant  object  lesson  in  the  working  out  of 
the  problem  involved  in  the  higher  civilization  of  the 
twentieth  century.  The  future  of  Denver,  of  Pueblo, 
Colorado  Springs,  Greeley,  and  other  important  centres, 
is  a most  important  part  of  the  future  of  the  nations. 
The  Star  of  high  destiny  shines  on  the  Centennial  State. 


182  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO 

“ But  my  minstrel  knows  and  tells 
The  counsel  of  the  godsy 
Knows  of  Holy  Book  the  spellsy 
Knows  the  law  of  Night  and  Day^ 

What  sea  and  land  discoursing  say 
In  sidereal  years."''' 

Emerson 

New  Mexico  is  the  scene  of  surprises.  Traditionally  sup- 
posed to  be  a country  that  is  as  remote  as  possible  from 
the  accepted  canons  of  polite  society  ; that  is  also  an  arid 
waste  whose  temperature  exceeds  the  limits  of  any  well- 
regulated  thermometer,  — it  reveals  itself  instead  as  a 
region  whose  temperature  is  most  delightful,  whose  color- 
ing of  sky  and  atmosphere  is  often  indescribably  beau- 
tiful, and  whose  inhabitants  include  their  fair  proportion 
of  those  who  represent  the  best  culture  and  intelligence  of 
our  country.  New  Mexico  has  a mixed  population.  To 
a hundred  and  sixty  thousand  Americans  there  are  a hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  thousand  of  Spanish  or  Mexican  de- 
scent; a few  hundred  Chinese  and  Japanese,  and  some 
thirteen  thousand  Indians,  who  are,  however,  peaceful  and 


ACOMA,  NEW  MEXICO 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  183 


industrious,  and  a proportion  of  whom  have  been  educated 
in  the  Government  schools  for  the  Indians. 

The  altitude  of  New  Mexico  seldom  falls  to  less  than 
five  thousand  feet,  so  that  the  air  is  cool  and  exhilarating. 
The  rock  formations  partake  of  the  same  rich  hue  that 
characterizes  those  in  Colorado  and  in  Arizona,  and  as  the 
soil  is  rich  there  is  a continual  play  of  color.  The  scenery 
is  one  changeful,  picturesque  panorama  of  mountains,  rock, 
or  walled  canons,  vast  mesas,  uncanny  buttes,  and  lava  fields 
left  by  some  vanished  volcanic  fires.  The  ancient  Indian 
pueblos  are  still  largely  inhabited,  and  strange  ruins  of  un- 
known civilizations  add  their  atmosphere  of  mystery.  The 
mouldering  remains  of  the  old  Pecos  church  and  the 
strange  communistic  dwellings  in  the  old  Pueblo  de  Taos  ; 
the  ruins  of  the  fortress  and  the  seven  circular  mounds, 
which  were  the  council-chambers  and  halls  for  mystic  rites 
of  the  prehistoric  civilization  ; and  the  fabled  site  of  the 
ancient  Aztec  city  where  tradition  says  Montezuma  was 
born,  — all  contribute  to  a unique  interest  in  this  “ land 
of  the  turquoise  sky,”  as  New  Mexico  is  called. 

Acoma,  the  ancient  pueblo  perched  on  a perpendicular 
precipice  four  hundred  feet  high,  with  its  terraced  dwell- 
ings of  adobe,  its  gigantic  church,  its  reservoir  cut  out  of 
solid  rock,  and  its  inhabitants  with  their  strange  customs, 
is  fairly  accessible  to  the  traveller  from  Albuquerque  by  a 
drive  of  some  twenty  miles.  Mr.  Lummis  calls  it  “ the 
most  wonderful  pueblo,”  and  “ the  most  remarkable  city  in 


184  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


the  world,”  as  compared,  of  course,  with  other  pueblos 
and  ruined  cities.  Acoma  has  a present  population  of 
some  four  hundred  Indians,  and  its  romantic  beauty  of 
location  is  unparalleled.  There  are  scientists  who  incline  to 
believe  that  the  original  Acoma  was  built  on  the  top  of 
the  Mesa  Encantada^  — the  “ Enchanted  Mesa,”  — a sheer, 
precipitous  rock  seven  hundred  feet  high  which  is  now 
practically  unscalable ; although  Mr.  F.  W.  Hodge,  of  the 
Bureau  of  Ethnology,  achieved  this  apparently  impossible 
feat,  and  found  what  is,  in  his  convictions,  unmistakable 
evidence  of  human  habitation,  supporting  the  traditions 
regarding  this  colossal  rock.  Some  mighty  cataclasm  of 
nature  swept  the  approach  away  ; but  if  ever  there  were 
human  habitations  on  the  “ Enchanted  Mesa,”  the  period 
is  lost  in  prehistoric  ages. 

The  colossal  church  in  Acoma  is  a striking  feature.  Its 
walls  are  ten  feet  in  thickness  and  sixty  feet  high,  and  the 
church  and  yard  in  which  it  stands  consumed  forty  years 
in  their  construction.  It  was  only  reached  by  rude  stairs 
cut  in  the  rock.  Dim  traditions,  which  are  perhaps  hardly 
more  than  speculative  theory,  suggest  that  these  steps  of 
approach  were  suddenly  swept  away  by  some  convulsion  of 
nature  at  a time  when  the  men  of  this  prehistoric  pueblo 
were  away  hunting,  or  otherwise  engaged  in  procuring 
means  of  sustenance,  and  that  the  women  and  children 
were  thus  cut  off  from  all  supplies  and  aid  and  left  to 
starve.  Mr.  Lummis  has  a theory  that  seems  to  him 


ENCHANTED  MESA,  NEW  3IEX1CO 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  185 


possible,  if  not  probable,  that  there  was  a ledge  of 
neighboring  rocks  which  served  as  ladders  to  the  Mesa 
Encantada^  and  that  these  rocks  were  swept  away  by  some 
frightful  storm,  or  some  sudden  convulsion  of  nature,  dur- 
ing the  absence  of  the  men ; and  that  a new  city  — the 
present  Acoma  — was  then  built  on  the  lesser  rock  on 
which  it  now  stands.  Acoma  was  old  even  when  Coro- 
nado, in  1540,  made  his  expedition  through  the  country, 
from  which  period  the  authentic  history  of  New  Mexico 
begins  with  the  meagre  records  of  the  heroic  friars  and 
the  memorials  of  the  Spanish  conquerors.  Laguna,  a 
pueblo  founded  in  1699,  lies  twenty  miles  from  Acoma 
on  the  Santa  Fe  route,  of  which  it  is  one  of  the  interesting 
features.  All  these  old  Spanish  missions,  which  are  found 
in  more  or  less  degrees  of  preservation  in  all  this  chain 
of  pueblos  in  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  contain  an- 
cient paintings  and  statues  of  saints.  Largely,  the  paint- 
ings are  crude  and  worthless,  but  there  exist  those  that 
have  legitimate  claim  to  art  as  the  work  of  Spanish  artists 
not  unknown  to  fame.  Among  these  is  the  painting  of 
San  Jose  in  the  mission  at  Acoma,  a painting  presented 
by  Charles  II  of  Spain.  This  mission  was  founded  by 
Friar  Ramirez,  who  dedicated  it  “ To  God,  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  to  St.  Joseph,'”*  — who  was  the 
patron  saint  of  this  pueblo. 

There  is  an  amusing  legend  that  Laguna,  submerged  in 
all  manner  of  disasters,  looked  on  the  prosperity  of  Acoma 


186  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


and  ascribed  it  wholly  to  the  influence  of  this  picture  of 
the  saint  before  which  the  people  made  their  daily  adora- 
tions and  laid  their  votive  offerings.  Laguna  believed 
that  San  Jose  would  invest  it  with  the  same  felicities 
enjoyed  by  the  neighboring  city,  could  they  only  secure 
the  portrait,  and  their  urgent  plea  to  boiTow  it  for  a time 
was  granted  by  Acoma.  Their  confidence  in  the  saint  was 
justified  ; peace  and  plenty  again  smiled  on  Laguna,  and 
they  made  their  daily  devotions  before  the  great  picture. 
At  length,  so  runs  the  legend,  Acoma  reminded  Laguna 
that  a loan  was  not  a gift,  — to  be  held  in  perpetual  fee, 
and  demanded  its  return.  The  faithless  people  of  Laguna 
declared  it  was  their  own,  — and  the  case  actually  went 
into  litigation  and  was  tried  in  Court.  Judge  Kirby  Bene- 
dict, after  hearing  all  the  evidence,  decided  in  favor  of 
Acoma,  but  the  picture  had  mysteriously  disappeared.  The 
messengei’s  sent  from  Acoma  to  bring  the  sacred  treasure 
at  last  discovered  it  under  a tree  half-way  between  the  two 
pueblos.  They  instantly  recognized  that  the  saint,  re- 
joiced at  the  righteous  decision,  had  started  on  his  home- 
wai’d  journey  of  his  own  volition.  The  last  one  of  the 
Franciscan  friars  to  minister  in  New  ^lexico  was  Padre 
^lariano  de  Jesus  Lopez,  whose  work  was  in  Acoma,  the 
“city  in  the  sky."^  Of  all  the  cliff-built  cities,  Acoma 
is  the  most  marvellous.  Its  teiTaced  dwellings  seem,  as 
^Ir.  Lummis  so  graphically  says,  to  be  “the  castles  of 
giants,’’  for  “ the  lapse  of  ages  has  carved  the  rocks  into 


LAGUNA,  NEW  iMEXICO,  ON  THE  SANTA  I E UAILHOAl) 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  187 


battlements,  buttresses,  walls,  columns,  and  towers,  and 
the  view  from  this  cloud-swept  city  is  one  never  to  be 
forgotten.  On  this  cliff  the  sand  rises  and  falls  like  the 
billows  of  the  sea.” 

No  latter-day  interest  of  contemporary  life,  either  in 
the  romantic  scenery  or  the  potential  development  of  New 
Mexico,  can  exceed  the  richness  of  its  prehistoric  past 
and  the  marvels  of  this  ancient  civilization  that  yet  remain. 
Alluding  to  these  wonderful  monumental  remains.  Colonel 
Max  Frost,  of  Santa  Fe,  who  knows  his  territory  in  every 
aspect  of  its  life  and  its  attractions,  says  : 

The  Pajarito  Cliff-dwellers’  Park,  the  Chaco  Canon,  the 
Gila  Canon,  western  Valencia  and  Socorro  counties  abound  in 
cliff  and  communal  buildings,  the  age  of  which  has  puzzled 
scientists,  but  which  are  older  than  any  other  ruins  on  the 
American  continent,  and  probably  in  the  world.  The  most 
accessible  cliff-dwellers’  region  is  the  Pajarito  Park,  only  one 
day’s  overland  trip  from  Santa  Fe  or  Espanola,  in  which 
twenty  thousand  cliff-dwellings  and  caves  are  situated  within 
a comparatively  small  area.  The  scenery  of  this  natural  park 
is  superb;  ^wonderful’  is  the  only  adjective  that  will  do 
justice  to  the  caves  in  the  cliffs,  high  and  inaccessible  almost 
as  eagles’  nests,  but  showing  many  other  signs  of  occupation 
besides  the  peculiar  picture  writings  in  the  soft  volcanic  tufa 
of  which  the  cliffs  are  composed.  In  addition  to  the  cliffs, 
there  are  remains  of  communal  buildings  of  later  occupation, 
some  of  them  containing  as  high  as  twelve  hundred  rooms. 


188  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


There  are  also  burial  mounds  with  remains  of  ancient  pottery. 
Along  the  eastern  foot  of  this  steep  plateau  flows  the  Rio 
Grande  and  lie  the  villages  of  San  Ildefonso,  Santa  Clara,  and 
San  Juan,  while  to  the  west  rise  the  stupendous  mountain 
masses  of  the  Valles,  the  Cochiti  and  Jemez  ranges,  with  their 
deep  forests  and  canons,  their  famous  hot  springs,  their  Indian 
villages,  and  their  mines.  Where  else  on  earth  is  there  so 
much  of  the  beautiful  in  scenery,  of  romance,  of  historic 
monuments,  of  prehistoric  remains,  of  the  ancient,  the  unique, 
the  picturesque,  the  sublime,  to  be  found  as  within  a radius 
of  fifty  miles  of  Santa  Fe  ? One  day’s  trip  will  take  the 
wanderer  from  the  historic  Old  Palace  and  San  Miguel  Church 
in  the  City  of  the  Holy  Faith,  over  the  foothills  of  the  Sangre 
de  Cristo  range,  from  which  rise  in  full  view  mountain  peaks 
almost  thirteen  thousand  feet  high,  into  the  picturesque 
Tesuque  Valley  and  by  the  ancient  Indian  pueblo  of  Tesuque. 
The  road  winds  through  sandhills  that  the  air  and  the  rain 
have  cut  into  grotesque  shapes,  huge  as  Titans  and  weird  as 
the  rock  formations  in  the  Garden  of  the  Gods.  Then  come 
once  more  fertile  fields  and  the  village  of  Cuymungue,  for- 
merly an  Indian  pueblo,  now  a native  settlement.  Along  the 
Nambe  River,  with  its  grand  falls,  close  by  the  Indian  pueblo 
of  Nambe  to  the  pueblo  of  San  Ildefonso  on  the  Rio  Grande  ; 
then  along  that  river  through  the  laughing  Espanola  Valley, 
past  the  Black  Mesa,  a famous  Indian  battleground,  into  the 
large  Indian  pueblo  of  Santa  Clara  and  its  mission  church  to 
wSanta  Cruz,  also  with  a quaint  and  ancient  church  building, 
threads  the  wagon  road  across  the  river  into  Espanola.  From 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  189 


there  the  road  ascends  the  wildly  beautiful  Santa  Clara 
Canon,  along  a rippling  trout  stream  up  to  the  steep  cliffs  of 
the  Puye  and  the  Shufinne,  with  their  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  prehistoric  caves  and  communal  buildings.  And  all 
that  in  one  day’s  journey  overland  ! If  the  trip  be  prolonged 
another  day  or  tw'o,  the  remarkable  hot  springs  at  Ojo  Caliente 
and  the  hot  springs  in  the  deep  chasm  of  the  Rio  Grande  at 
Wamsley’s,  the  Indian  pueblos  of  Picuris  and  Taos,  the  finest 
trout  streams  and  best  haunts  of  wdld  game,  or  the  Jicarilla 
Indian  Reservation,  as  well  as  busy  lumber  and  mining  camps, 
can  be  visited.  And  that  is  only  in  one  direction  from  Santa 
Fe  ! Going  south,  one  day’s  trip  will  pass  through  the  quaint 
settlements  of  Agua  Fria,  Cienega,  and  Cieneguilla,  by  the 
Tiffany  turquoise  mines,  the  old  mining  eamp  of  Bonanza,  the 
smelter  at  Cerrillos,  the  Ortiz  gold  placers,  worked  a hun- 
dred years  before  gold  was  discovered  in  California  and  still 
yielding  gold  dust  and  nuggets,  the  coal  mines  at  Madrid, 
where  bituminous  and  anthracite  coal  have  been  mined  from 
the  same  hillside,  the  placer  and  gold  mines  of  Golden  and 
San  Pedro,  not  to  speak  of  sheep  and  cattle  ranches  and  the 
beautiful  scenery  of  the  Cerrillos,  Ortiz,  San  Pedro,  and 
Sandia  mountains. 

Another  trip  of  one  day  from  Santa  Fe  will  take  the  trav- 
eller by  the  pueblo  ruins  of  Arroyo  Hondo  over  Apache  hill, 
the  battlegrounds  of  Apache  Springs,  the  interesting  native 
settlement  of  Cahoncito,  over  Glorieta  Pass  and  the  battle- 
field of  Glorieta,  to  the  upper  Pecos  River,  by  the  ancient  and 
historic  Pecos  church  ruins,  the  village  of  Pecos,  and  through 


190  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


the  most  beautiful  summer-resort  country  in  the  Southwest, 
where  trout  streams  babble  in  every  canon  and  where  from 
one  summit  can  be  surveyed  the  hoary  heads  of  eleven  of  the 
twelve  highest  peaks  in  New  Mexico. 

Another  day’s  trip  out  of  Santa  Fe  will  take  the  visitor 
up  the  rugged  Santa  Fe  Canon,  by  the  large  reservoir  and  the 
Aztec  mineral  springs  to  the  Scenic  Highway,  which  crosses 
the  Santa  Fe  range  into  the  upper  Pecos  Valley  and  unfolds 
at  every  step  new  mountain  views  and  panoramas  magnificent 
beyond  description.  Nor  do  these  trips  exhaust  the  interest- 
ing points  in  and  about  Santa  Fe.  Almost  every  other  town 
in  the  territory  offers  sights  and  scenes  of  equal  interest  to 
the  tourist  and  sightseer. 

^^The  prehistoric  ruin  of  the  Chaco  Canon  and  Pueblo 
Bonito,  in  southeastern  San  Juan  County,  as  well  as  those  at 
Aztec,  in  the  same  county,  are*  more  fully  excavated  than 
those  of  the  Pajarito  Park,  and  in  some  respects  are  more 
palatial  and  more  impressive.  They  can  best  be  reached 
from  Gallup  or  Thoreau  on  the  Santa  Fe  Railway  in  McKinley 
County. 

^‘The  prehistoric  ruins  on  the  Gila  Forest  Reserve,  as  well 
as  those  in  western  Valencia  and  Socorro  counties,  have  not 
been  thoroughly  explored  thus  far,  being  distant  from  the 
highways  of  travel ; but  on  this  very  account  they  should 
have  a special  charm  and  attraction  for  the  student  of 
archaeology. 

Coming  to  more  recent,  although  still  ancient  days,  the 
ruins  of  the  Gran  Quivira  and  of  nearby  abandoned  pueblo 


CLIFF  DWELLER  RUINS,  NEAR  SANTA  FE,  NEW  MEXICO 


STONE  TENT.  CLIFF  DWELLERS,  NEW  MEXICO 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  191 


villages,  between  the  Jumanes  Mesa  and  the  Mai  Pais  and 
Jornado  del  Muerto,  are  of  great  historic  interest.  They  are 
best  reached  from  the  station  of  Willard  at  the  junction  of 
the  Santa  Fe  Central  and  Eastern  Railway  of  New  Mexico. 
Similar  ruins  are  found  in  western  Valencia,  Socorro,  and 
other  counties,  and  divide  the  interest  of  the  tourist  with  the 
many  present-day  Indian  pueblos  and  Spanish  settlements 
boasting  of  considerable  antiquity.  The  Zuhi,  Navaho, 
Jicarilla,  and  Mescalero  Indian  reservations  are  well  worthy 
a visit,  and  upon  the  first  two  named  are  many  prehistoric 
ruins. 

Foremost  in  interest  and  value  in  historic  archaeology 
are  the  old  mission  churches  of  the  Franciscans.  In  every 
occupied  Indian  pueblo  and  at  the  site  of  almost  every 
abandoned  pueblo,  there  is  one  of  the  monuments  of  those 
pioneers  of  Christianity  and  civilization,  the  Franciscan 
Fathers.  Many  of  these  are  in  a good  state  of  preserva- 
tion, while  others  are  in  ruins,  but  every  one  is  an  object  of 
historic  interest. 

‘‘  The  old  mission  church  of  San  Diego,  which  is  the  oldest 
of  the  California  missions,  was  founded  in  1769.  It  is  almost 
a total  ruin  ; only  the  front  remains  in  a good  state  of  pres- 
ervation. The  side  walls  are  still  standing,  but  no  portions  of 
the  roof  or  interior  remain.  This  is  the  most  venerable  and 
venerated  historic  monument  in  the  state  of  California,  and 
is  annually  visited  by  thousands  of  tourists.  It  has  stood  for 
one  hundred  and  sixty-four  years.  It  marks  the  beginning 
of  civilization  and  Christianity  in  California.  And  yet,  in 


192  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


New  Mexico,  on  the  upper  Pecos,  thirty-five  miles  west  of 
Las  Vegas,  at  the  site  of  the  abandoned  Pueblo  of  Cicuye,  are 
the  ruins  of  the  old  Pecos  church.  The  church  is 
three  hundred  years  old.  It  was  nearly  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  old  when  the  San  Diego  mission  was  founded.  It 
w^as  projected  before  the  Spanish  Armada  was  destroyed  and 
antedates  the  coming  of  the  Mayflower  and  the  settlement 
of  Jamestown.  All  that  is  said  of  the  old  Pecos  church  may 
be  said  of  that  of  Jemez.  They  were  built  at  the  same  time. 
The  one  at  Gran  Quivira  was  founded  in  l6S0,  and  is  a fairly 
well-preserved  ruin.  The  churches  at  San  Ildefonso  and  Santa 
Clara  are  in  a complete  state  of  preservation.  They  are  nine 
years  older  than  the  oldest  of  the  California  ruins.  The  old 
San  Miguel  mission  in  Santa  Fe  has  been  rebuilt.  Its  walls 
date  from  1650,  the  roof  from  1694-,  or  possibly  a few  years 
later.  From  the  old  church  at  Algodones  was  taken  a bell, 
cast  in  Spain  in  1356,  and  at  the  Cathedral  at  Santa  Fe  and 
other  churches  are  ancient  relics  and  art  treasures  of  old 
Spanish  and  Italian  masters.  These  are  only  a few  examples 
selected  at  random  from  the  large  number  of  ancient  churches 
of  equally  great  interest  scattered  over  New  Mexico.  In- 
scription Rock,  on  the  old  road  to  Zuhi,  and  every  one  of  the 
pueblos  from  Taos  on  the  north  to  Isleta  on  the  south,  and 
from  tlie  Rio  Grande  pueblos  in  the  central  part  to  Zuhi  in 
the  west,  are  worthy  of  a visit,  both  for  historic  and  present- 
day  interest. 

Nor  is  there  any  other  building  in  this  country  to  com- 
pare in  historic  interest  with  the  Old  Palace  at  Santa  Fe, 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  193 


which  has  been  more  to  New  Mexico  than  Faneuil  Hall  to  "" 
Massachusetts  or  Liberty  Hall  to  Pennsylvania,  nor  is  there 
any  other  town  in  the  LTnited  States  which  offers  so  much  of 
interest  to  the  tourist  as  the  city  of  St.  Francis  d’ Assisi.” 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  in  many  respects  the 
archaeological  interest  of  New  Mexico,  its  atmosphere, 
its  historic  color,  is  as  distinctive  as  that  of  Egypt  or  of 
Greece,  Italy,  or  Spain.  When,  on  December  15,  1905, 
the  first  long-distance  telephone  in  Santa  Fe  established 
communication  viva  voce  with  Denver,  while  within  a 
radius  of  fifty  miles,  ruins  of  prehistoric  civilization 
fascinated  the  tourist,  — surely  the  remote  past  and  the 
latest  developments  of  the  present  met  and  mingled  after 
the  fashion  of  “ blue  spirits  and  gray.”  Very  curiously 
mixed  is  the  civilization  of  New  Mexico.  It  can  almost 
be  said  to  lie  in  strata,  like  geologic  testimony.  The 
ancient  peoples  whose  very  name  is  lost,  — shrouded  in 
antiquity  that  has  closed  the  chapters  and  refuses  to  turn 
the  pages  for  the  twentieth-century  reader ; the  Indian 
population;  the  Spanish,  whose  explorers  — Alvar  Nunez, 
Cabeza  de  Vaca,  Coronado,  Juan  de  Ohate,  and  others  — 
and  whose  missionaries,  from  the  ranks  of  the  Franciscan 
fHars,  brought  to  the  savage  land  the  first  message 
of  modern  civilization ; and  the  American,  which  within 
almost  the  past  half-century  has  established  itself  since 
that  August  day  of  1846  when  General  Kearny  floated 
the  stars  and  stripes  from  the  ‘‘  Old  Palace  ” in  Santa  Fe. 

13 


194  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


The  American  civilization  and  high  enlightenment  has 
poured  itself  into  this  “ Land  of  the  Sun  King,”  — the 
“ Land  of  the  Turquoise  Sky.”  For  now,  as  Colonel  Frost 
has  so  ably  and  comprehensively  noted,  “ New  Mexico  is 
strictly  up  to  date  in  its  government,  in  its  hotels,  its  rail- 
road accommodations,  in  the  protection  the  law  affords, 
in  its  universities,  colleges,  public  schools,  sanitariums, 
charitable  institutions,  its  progress,  and  in  its  prosperity. 
Churches  are  found  in  every  settlement,  newspapers  in 
every  town,  together  with  fine  stores,  banking  institu- 
tions, and  every  safety,  comfort,  and  luxury  that  the 
centres  of  civilization  of  the  East  afford.”  If  that  vivid 
and  inspiring  group  of  the  Muses,  — the  muse  of  His- 
tory, of  Science,  of  Philosophy,  and  others,  — painted  by 
Puvis  de  Chavannes  to  adorn  the  court  of  the  grand  stair- 
way of  rich  Siena  marble  in  the  Public  Library  of 
Boston,  — an  achievement  in  modern  art  that  alone 
would  immortalize  the  great  painter  of  France,  — if 
these  Muses  could  visit  New  Mexico,  the  specialty  of  each 
would  be  found.  The  richly  historic  past  that  has  left 
its  various  records ; the  present,  that  has  impressed  into 
its  service  every  power  of  science,  of  engineering,  of 
architectural  construction,  of  agriculture,  and  of  social 
progress,  would  furnish  to  each  a vast  field  in  its  own 
especial  domain. 

A work  published  in  Paris  somewhere  about  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  entitled  “ Memoires  H'lstoriqaes 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  195 


sur  La  Louisiane^''  — a book  that  has  never  been  trans- 
lated,— gives  an  account  of  a French  expedition  in  New 
Mexico  in  search  of  a mine  of  emeralds  and  their  en- 
counter with  the  Spanish  forces ; but  although  in  this  en- 
gagement the  Spanish  troops  suffered  disaster,  the  Spanish 
civilization  still  continues,  while  there  is  little  permanent 
trace  of  the  French  in  New  Mexico.  It  is  a curious 
fact,  however,  that  the  present  continues  this  varied  and 
strangely  assorted  grouping  of  races  which  characterized 

I 

the  country  in  its  earliest  days. 

New  Mexico  reminds  one  of  Algiers.  There  is  the  same 
Oriental  suggestion  of  intense  coloring,  of  dazzling  bril- 
liancy of  sky,  of  gleaming  pearl,  of  floating  clouds. 

There  is  one  feature  of  this  trans-Continental  trip 
which  is  of  the  first  importance  to  the  tourist,  and  this  is 
the  line  of  artistic  and  beautiful  hotels  built  after  the  old 
mission  design,  the  architecture  felicitously  harmonizing 
with  the  landscape,  — those  Harvey  hotels  built  in  con- 
nection with  the  Santa  Fe  stations  at  principal  points,  as 
at  Trinidad,  Las  Vegas,  Albuquerque,  and  others,  all  chris- 
tened with  Spanish  names,  — the  “ Cardenas,”  the  ‘‘  Cas- 
taneda,” the  “ Alvarado,”  — all  of  which  are  conducted 
with  a perfection  of  cuisine  and  service  that  is  rarely 
equalled.  The  social  and  the  pictureque  charm  of  the 
long  journey  is  singularly  enhanced  by  the  leisurely  stops 
made  for  refreshment ; the  leaving  the  long  train  — with 
its  two  engines,  one  at  either  end  — for  the  little  exer- 


196  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


dse  in  fresh  air  gained  by  going  into  the  dining-rooms ; 
being  able  to  procure  papers  at  the  news  stands,  fruit,  or 
other  delicacies,  and  enjoying  the  scenery  and  gaining  some 
knowledge  of  the  place.  In  connection  with  the  Alva- 
rado, at  Albuquerque,  are  two  buildings : one  that  offers 
a most  interesting  museum  of  Indian  archaeological  and 
ethnological  collections,  and  the  other  showing  native 
goods  from  Africa  and  the  Pacific  islands.  Salesrooms 
connected  with  these  enable  the  traveller  to  purchase  any 
souvenir  from  a trifle,  to  the  costly  baskets,  richly  colored 
Navajo  blankets,  the  strange  symbolic  pottery,  or  the 
objects  of  religious  rites. 

A day’s  delay  at  Albuquerque  enables  the  traveller  to 
visit  four  interesting  pueblos,  — Santa  Ana,  Sandia,  Zia, 
and  Jemez,  — in  a day’s  stage  ride  between  Jemez  and 
Albuquerque.  At  all  these  important  stations  on  the 
route  the  Santa  Fe  has  established  free  reading-rooms  for 
its  employes,  fitted  up  with  every  comfort. 

New  Mexico,  while  partaking  in  the  general  fascina- 
tion that  invests  all  the  great  Southwest,  is  especially 
not  only  a land  of  enchantment,  but  a land  of  oppor- 
tunities. It  is  a country  of  untold  latent  wealth,  of  un- 
calculated resources.  There  are  vast  tracts  of  soil  that 
are  ready  for  the  cultivation  they  will  so  bountifully 
repay ; there  are  over  three  hundred  mining  districts, 
few  of  which  are  developed.  Six  million  sheep  are  graz- 
ing upon  its  thousand  hills,  which  would  furnish  raw 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  197 


material  for  a large  number  of  woollen  mills.  The  land 
is  favorable  for  the  culture  of  the  sugar  beet,  and  manu- 
factories for  this  product  are  needed.  A local  authority 
states  that  the  rubber  plant  is  indigenous  and  mineral 
products  are  of  such  extent  and  variety  that  industries 
that  need  them  for  raw  material,  or  incidentally  in  the 
process  of  manufacture,  will  find  in  this  part  of  the 
United  States  a location  much  more  favorable  than  most 
of  the  Eastern  manufacturing  centres.  There  exist  large 
deposits  of  iron  ore,  fluxing  material  and  fuel  for  furnaces, 
steel  mills  and  smelters,  and  there  are  but  few  branches  of 
manufacture  which  could  not  be  established  with  profit 
in  this  part  of  the  Southwest.  Besides  the  raw  material 
there  are  offered  the  water-power,  the  fuel,  the  cheap 
labor,  special  inducements,  such  as  exemption  from  taxa- 
tion for  the  first  five  years  and  a low  assessment  there- 
after, favorable  legislation,  cheap  building  sites,  railroad 
facilities,  freedom  from  excessive  competition,  the  increas- 
ing home  demand  of  a growing  commonwealth  of  vast 
resources,  and  proximity  to  the  markets  of  Mexico  and 
the  Orient.  . . . 

“Farmers  are  urged  to  come  to  till  the  fertile  soil 
under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  and  with  home 
markets  that  pay  better  prices  than  can  be  obtained  any- 
where else.  Only  a quarter  of  a million  of  acres  are  under 
cultivation,  and  most  of  these  only  in  forage  plants  or  in 
products  that  demand  little  attention  ; four  times  that 


198  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


area  is  immediately  available  for  agricultural  purposes. 
Not  one-half  of  the  flowing  water  is  utilized,  and  not 
one-fiftieth  of  the  flood  water  is  stored.  There  are  un- 
developed possibilities  of  farming  by  the  Campbell  or  dry- 
soil  method.  New  Mexico  raises  the  finest  fruit  in  the 
world,  and  every  other  crop  that  can  be  produced  any- 
where in  the  temperate  zone.  Yet  it  imports  annually 
millions  of  dollars’  worth  of  flour,  alfalfa,  hay,  potatoes, 
fruit,  garden  produce,  poultry,  eggs,  butter,  cheese,  honey, 
beef,  pork,  and  other  products  of  the  farm  and  dairy  that 
it  can  and  should  raise  at  home.  Free  lands,  the  finest 
climate  in  the  world,  irrigation,  churches,  schools,  rail- 
road facilities,  home  markets,  good  prices,  and  extensive 
range,  are  all  factors  which  help  to  make  the  life  of  the 
farmer  anc^  stock  grower  in  New  Mexico  pleasant  and 
prosperous.” 

The  visitor  from  the  East  enters  New  Mexico  through 
a long  tunnel ; and  in  Raton,  a prosperous  city  of  some 
eight  thousand  people  located  in  the  Raton  Mountains, 
is  found  the  centre  of  an  enormous  coal  belt,  and  also  a 
promising  oil  field.  Raton  is  called  the  “ Gate  City.”  It 
exports  ice  of  a very  pure  quality,  the  water  being  from 
a reservoir  of  a capacity  of  over  fifty  million  gallons.  The 
streets  of  Raton  are  graded  and  have  electric  lighting  ; 
there  is  a fine  park,  long-distance  telephonic  connection 
;vith  Colorado  and  New  Mexican  cities,  and  its  schools 
and  churches  are  numerous.  A new  Raton  tunnel  is  now 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  199 


in  process  of  construction  by  the  Santa  Fe  line  that  will 
enter  New  Mexico  through  the  mountains  at  a lower 
point.  The  work  is  being  done  by  electric  drills  that 
offer  a most  interesting  spectacle  in  their  process.  The' 
tunnel  will^cost  a million  dollars.  Most  beautiful  is  the 
landscape  and  the  coloring  of  air  and  sky  between  Raton 
and  Las  Vegas.  The  Cimarron  range  is  silhouetted  against 
the  western  sky ; picturesque  points  on  the  old  Santa  Fe 
trail  are  seen  ; and  Mora  Canon,  through  which  the  jour- 
ney lies,  has  its  romantic  attractions.  From  the  lofty 
plateau  of  Raton’s  Peak  the  deep,  dark  valley  of  Rio  Las 
Animas  Perdidas  is  disclosed  ; the  matchless  Spanish 
Peaks,  “ Las  Cumbres  Espaholas,”  lift  their  heads  into 
the  blue  sky ; Pike’s  Peak  gleams  like  a monumental 
shaft  in  the  clouds,  and  the  Snowy  Range,  for  more  than 
two  hundred  miles,  is  within  the  luminous  landscape. 

Las  Vegas,  the  second  city  in  importance  in  New  Mexico, 
is  a fascinating  place.  There  are  really  three  towns  of 
Las  Vegas  — the  old  Spanish  town,  still  retaining  its  an- 
cient convent  and  missions ; the  new,  up-to-date  Las 
Vegas,  with  its  Castaneda  Hotel  — beautiful  in  the  old 
Moorish  architecture,  with  spacious  piazzas  and  balconies ; 
and  Las  Vegas  Hot  Springs,  connected  by  trolley  cars. 
Thus  there  is  the  particular  paradise  of  the  invalid,  or  of 
those  who  take  prevention  rather  than  cure  and  a sunny 
winter  in  order  not  to  be  invalids  ; for  at  Las  Vegas  Hot 
Springs,  to  which  a branch  railroad  of  this  omnipresent 


200  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Santa  Fe  conveys  the  traveller  — only  six  miles  — the 
Hot  Springs  boil  and  bubble  like  the  witches’  caldron. 
Here  the  guests  may  immerse  themselves  in  boiling 
mineral  water,  or  lie  all  day  in  the  sunshine,  or  whatever 
else  they  prefer;  and  the  medicinal  waters,"'  internally 
and  externally  administered,  are  said  to  make  one  over 
altogether.  Rheumatic  and  tubercular  affections  flee,  it 
is  said,  before  this  treatment  and  the  w'onderful  air ; 
and  apparently  if  Ponce  de  Leon  had  only  chanced  upon 
Las  Vegas  he  would  not  have  searched  in  vain  for  his 
fabled  fountain. 

Albuquerque  is  an  exceedingly  “ smart  ” town.  Its 
residents  are  almost  entirely  Eastern  capitalists,  who  are 
living  here  that  they  may  keep  an  eye  on  their  posses- 
sions, mines,  ranches,  and  the  things  of  this  world  in 
general.  However  largely  they  have  laid  up  their  treas- 
ures in  heaven,  they  have  a goodly  amount  also  on  earth, 
over  which  they  perhaps  keep  closer  watch  and  ward  than 
over  their  more  immaterial  possessions.  At  all  events, 
Albuquerque  is  a sort  of  Newport  of  the  West,  where 
people  drive  and  dance  and  dine  from  one  week  to  an- 
other, and  the  women  are  so  stylish  as  to  suggest  some 
occult  affinities  with  the  Rue  de  la  Paix. 

In  this  brilliant  and  thoroughly  up-to-date  young  city 
of  Albuquerque,  the  metropolis  of  New  Mexico ; in 
Las  Vegas,  one  of  the  fascinating  towns  of  the  conti- 
nent ; in  Raton  and  Gallup,  and  in  its  capital,  Santa  Fe, 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  201 


the  territory  has  a galaxy  of  exceedingly  interesting 
towns. 

Albuquerque  is  the  trade  centre  of  a region  exceeding 
in  area  all  New  England.  With  a population  estimated 
' at  some  eighteen  thousand  ; the  seat  of  the  University  of 
New  Mexico,  whose  buildings  occupy  a plateau  two  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  town,  commanding  a beautiful  view  ; 
with  a scenic  background  of  the  Sandia  and  the  Jemez 
mountains ; with  the  most  extensive  free  Public  Library 
in  the  territory  ; two  daily  journals  and  a number  of 
weekly  papers  in  both  Spanish  and  English,  and  several 
monthly  publications ; with  its  splendid  railway  facilities 
both  to  the  North  and  the  South,  as  well  as  on  the  great 
trans-continental  line  from  the  East  to  the  Pacific  ; with 
the  shops  of  the  Santa  Fe  road  employing  over  seven 
hundred  men,  as  the  junction  point  of  three  lines  of  this 
superb  system  ; and  with  the  beautiful  Alvarado  hotel, 
in  the  old  Soanish  mission  architecture,  from  whose  wide 
piazzas  the  view  comprises  a host  of  mountain  peaks 
piercing  the  turquoise  sky,  and  whose  beauty  and  comfort 
is  a masterpiece  of  the  magician  of  the  Land  of  Enchant- 
ment; with  the  Musee  of  Indian  relics  and  souvenirs  of 
the  Moki,  the  Navajo,  the  Zuhi,  Pima,  and  Apache ; the 
fine  Mexican  filigree  work ; the  model  of  an  Indian 
pueblo,  and  other  curios,  — with  all  these  and  many 
other  interesting  aspects,  Albuquerque  fascinates  the 
tourist.  In  the  “ Commercial  Club  ” it  has  a unique 


202  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


institution  representing  the  combination  of  business  and  ' 
social  life.  The  broad  streets  are  well  lighted  by  elec- 
tricity ; there  is  electric  transit  and  a fine  water  system. 
Albuquerque  has  also  extensive  manufacturing  interests, 
in  foundry,  lumber,  and  other  directions,  which  aggregate 
an  investment  of  over  two  millions  of  capital  with  an 
annual  productive  value  of  more  than  four  millions. 

Returning  to  Las  Vegas  ; with  its  ten  thousand  inhab- 
itants, its  large  floating  population  drawn  by  the  medicinal 
hot  springs,  and  the  seat  of  the  territorial  Normal  School. 
As  a noted  wool  centre,  and  with  its  daily  papers,  good 
schools,  and  many  churches,  it  is  another  alluring  point. 
One  feature  of  important  interest  is  the  new  ‘‘  Scenic  High- 
way ” that  is  in  process  of  completion  between  Las  Vegas  and 
Santa  Fe,  across  the  Pecos  Forest  Reserve,  which  will  offer 
some  of  the  grandest  views  in  any  of  the  mountain  regions 
of  the  West.  It  will  be  to  Santa  Fe  and  Las  Vegas  what 
the  beautiful  drive  between  Naples,  Sorrento,  and  Amalfi 
is  to  Southern  Italy.  This  scenic  road  will  wind  up  to  the 
Dalton  Divide,  nine  thousand  five  hundred  feet  high^ 
where  Lake  Peak,  glittering  with  snow,  Santa  Fe  Canon, 
and  other  peaks  and  precipices  and  canons,  are  all  about, 
and  the  Pecos  River  is  seen  far  below  as  a thread  of  silver. 
This  drive  will  be  one  of  the  famous  features  of  the  entire 
West  when  completed.  New  Mexico  monopolizes  the 
greatest  belt  of  coal  deposits  west  of  the  Missouri,  while 
Arizona  has  the  monopoly  in  pine  forests. 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  20S 


The  reclamation  work  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
Rio  Grande  Valley  is  now  in  successful  process,  and  near 
Engle  a reservoir  forty  miles  in  length  will  be  established, 
having  a capacity  of  two  million  acre-feet.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  a hundred  and  ten  thousand  acres  of  land 
will  thus  be  put  under  irrigated  agriculture  which  will 
yield  marvellous  returns  in  alfalfa,  cereals,  vegetaldes, 
and  fruits. 

The  government  has  also  purchased  the  system  of  the 
Pecos  Irrigation  Company,  which  is  now  transferred  to 
the  Reclamation  Service  of  the  United  States.  This  is 
the  largest  irrigation  scheme  in  New  Mexico.  It  is  lo- 
cated on  the  Pecos  River,  which  is  fed  from  springs  many 
of  which  gush  forth  from  the  earth  with  such  force  as  to 
indicate  that  their  source  must  be  in  high,  snow-crowned 
hills. 

New  Mexico'^s  railroad  facilities  may  be  estimated  from 
the  fact  that  not  a county  in  the  territory  is  without  a 
railroad,  while  many  have  the  benefit  of  three  lines.  With 
twenty-five  hundred  miles  of  railroads  within  the  terri- 
torial limits  already  in  operation,  it  is  confidently  expected 
that  this  number  will  be  increased  to  four  thousand  miles 
within  two  years,  as  much  of  this  anticipated  increase  is 
already  under  construction.  Of  the  present  railways  eleven 
hundred  miles  belong  to  the  Santa  Fe  system  alone.  The 
matchless  scenery  of  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  route 
between  Ontonito  and  Santa  Fe  offers  the  tourist  one  of 


204  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


the  most  enjoyable  of  trips  through  Espahola,  Caliente, 
and  other  points  of  beauty  with  the  mountain  peaks  of 
San  Antonio,  Taos,  Ute,  and  others  within  the  horizon, 
often  appearing  like  islands  swimming  in  a faint  blue 
haze. 

There  is  space  and  to  spare  in  New  Mexico.  There 
are  almost  unlimited  possibilities,  with  much  to  get 
and  as  much  to  give,  and  the  latter  is  by  no  means  less 
important  in  life  than  the  former.  Out  of  a total  area  of 
over  seventy-eight  million  acres  only  about  a quarter  of  a 
million  are  under  irrigation  agriculture,  and  the  field  for 
reclamation  is  as  unlimited  as  it  is  promising.  The  land 
is  fertile  and  the  productions  are  abundant.  The  sky  is  a 
dream  of  color  and  of  luminous  beauty,  and  the  climate  is 
one  of  the  most  delightful  in  the  entire  w’orld.  Nor  does 
New  Mexico  suffer  from  that  which  is  the  greatest  depriva- 
tion of  Arizona,  — the  lack  of  water.  There  is  an  abun- 
dance of  the  mountain  flood  waters  that  now  go  to  w^aste 
which  would  store  vast  reservoirs  ; there  is  the  flow  of 
copious  streams  and  large  river  systems,  and  there  are 
artesian  belts  of  water  all  ready  for  mechanical  appliances. 
The  Campbell  dry  culture,  which  is  increasingly  in  use  in 
the  eastern  part  of  Colorado,  has  been  successfully  intro- 
duced into  New  Mexico.  Fruit-gi’owing  is  already  becom- 
ing an  important  industry,  and  the  apple  orchard,  of  all 
other  varieties  of  horticulture,  is  the  most  successful.  At 
the  Paris  Exposition  in  1900  New  Mexico  made  an  exhibit 


SURPRISES  OF  NEW  MEXICO  205 


of  apples,  and  also  at  Buffalo  in  1901,  receiving  from 
the  former  the  award  to  rank  with  those  of  the  best 
apple-growing  regions  in  any  part  of  the  United  States, 
and  from  the  latter  the  first  prize.  Peaches,  pears, 
and  apricots  grow  well ; the  cherry  does  not  thrive  in 
New  Mexico,  but  grapes  are  grown  with  conspicuous 
success. 

The  mineral  resources  of  New  Mexico  are  varied,  and 
include  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  and  other  minerals.  In 
precious  stones  there  is  promise  of  untold  development. 
The  Tiffanys  owm  large  turquoise  mines,  whose  supply, 
thus  far,  has  proved  inexhaustible  ; and  the  opal  and  the 
moonstone  are  found  in  many  places.  But  it  is  as  an 
agricultural  commonw’ealth,  and  as  the  repository  of  vast 
coal  belts,  that  New  Mexico  is  chiefly  distinguished. 

It  was  early  in  February,  1880,  that  the  first  train 
over  the  Santa  Fe  railroad  entered  the  territorial  capital 
and  initiated  its  transformation  from  the  mediaeval  Span- 
ish town  to  that  which  is,  in  part,  the  theatre  of  the 
progressive  American  life.  In  Santa  Fe  one  of  the  land- 
marks pointed  out  to-day  to  the  visitor  is  the  old  Santa 
Fe  Trail,  whose  story  was  told  so  vividly,  some  years  ago, 
by  Colonel  Henry  In  man, ^ who  has  described  the  majestic 
solitude  of  this  highway  and  has  narrated  the  mingled  ex- 
periences of  the  early  pioneers  and  the  soldiers  who  thus 

1 The  Old  Santa  Fe  Trail ; The  Story  of  a Great  Highway,  1897. 
The  Macmillan  Company. 


206  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


marched  through  the  wilderness.  History  and  romance 
mingle  in  the  wonderful  past  of  New  Mexico,  and  it  needs 
no  sibyl  of  old  to  proclaim  from  the  Mesa  Encantada 
the  promise  of  the  future  to  this  beautiful  Land  of  the 
Turquoise  Sky. 


THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE  207 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE 

“ From  scheme  and  creed  the  light  goes  out. 

The  saintly  fact  survives. 

The  Blessed  Master  none  can  doubt 
Revealed  in  holy  lives.  ” 

“ Oh,  more  than  sacred  relic,  more 
Than  solemn  rite  or  sacred  lore. 

The  holy  life  of  one  who  trod 

The  footmarks  of  the  Christ  of  Ood.^'' 

In  the  place  once  occupied  by  those  whose  lives  were  con- 
secrated to  the  divine  ideal,  some  influence,  as  potent  as  it 
is  unseen,  binds  the  soul  to  maintain  the  honor  that  they 
left ; to  hold  the  same  noble  standard  of  life.  The  spell 
is  felt  even  while  it  eludes  analysis.  Few  to-day  can  tread 
the  narrow,  primitive  little  streets  of  old  Santa  Fe  without 
some  consciousness  of  this  mystic  influence.  It  was  here, 
in  the  centuries  gone  from  all  save  memory,  that 

“ there  trod 

The  whitest  of  the  saints  of  God,” 

and  “ The  True  City  of  the  Holy  Faith  of  Saint  Francis  ” 
{La  Ciudad  Real  de  la  Santa  Fe  de  San  Francisco)  is 
forever  consecrated  by  the  memory  of  these  holy  men,  and 
vital  with  the  tragic  interest,  the  heroic  and  pathetic  story 


208  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


of  their  lives.  As  early  as  1539  Friar  Marcos  de  Nizza 
and  other  Fathers  of  the  Church  pressed  on  into  this 
country  — then  an  unknown  wilderness  — to  extend  the 
domain  of  tlie  Holy  Cross  and  carry  onward  “ the  true 
faith  of  St.  Francis.’’  They  encountered  every  hardship 
possible  to  a savage  land ; sacrifice  and  martyrdom  were 
their  reward.  They  left  a land  of  learning  and  refinement 
to  carry  the  light  into  regions  of  barbarism.  They  gave 
their  lives  to  teaching  and  prayer,  and  they  sowed  without 
reaping  their  harvest.  Yet  who  shall  dare  think  of  their 
brilliant,  consecrated  lives  as  wasted  ? for  the  lesson  they 
taught  of  absolute  faith  in  God  is  the  most  important  in 
life.  Faith  provides  the  atmosphere  through  which  alone 
the  divine  aid  can  be  manifested,  and  the  divine  aid  is 
sent  through  and  by  means  of  our  friends  and  helpers  and 
counsellors  in  the  unseen  world.  It  is  man’s  business,  his 
chief  business,  now  and  here,  to  co-operate  with  God  in 
the  carrying  out  of  His  plans  and  purposes.  It  was  this 
literal  and  practical  faith  in  divine  aid  that  the  Franciscan 
Fathers  taught  in  the  wilderness  through  all  hardship  and 
disaster. 

“ Say  not  the  struggle  naught  availeth.” 

It  must  always  avail. 

“ Yet  do  thy  work  ; it  shall  succeed 
In  thine  or  in  another’s  day, 

And  if  denied  the  victor’s  meed 

Thou  shalt  not  lack  the  toiler’s  pay.” 


I 


THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE  209 

This  Spanish  mission  work  planted  itself  over  the  entire 
vast  region  which  is  now  known  as  New  Mexico,  Arizona, 
and  Southern  California.  The  friars  set  out  on  long, 
lonely  journeys,  wholly  without  ways  and  means  to  reach  a 
given  destination  save  as  they  were  guided  by  unseen 
hands  and  companioned  by  unseen  guides.  The  cloud  by 
day  and  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night  led  them  on.  They 
went  forth  to  meet  desolation  and  sacrifice  and  often  mar- 
tyrdom ; yet  their  gentle  zeal  and  cheerful  courage  never 
failed.  They  traversed  hundreds  of  miles  of  desert  wastes  ; 
they  encountered  the  cruel  treatment  of  the  Apaches  and 
the  Navajos;  but  these  experiences  were  simply  to  them 
the  incidents  of  the  hour,  and  had  fio  relation  to  the  ulti- 
mate issue  of  their  work.  In  1598  the  first  church  was 
founded,  by  a band  of  ten  missionaries  who  accompanied 
Juan  de  Ohate,  the  colonizer,  and  was  called  the  chapel  of 
San  Gabriel  de  los  Espaholes,  but  it  was  deserted  when,  in 
1605,  the  city  of  Santa  Fe  was  founded  by  Ohate,  and  in 
1630  the  church  of  San  Miguel  was  built.  The  original 
wall  was  partly  destroyed  in  the  rebellion  of  a half-century 
later,  but  it  was  restored  in  1710,  and  the  new  cathedral 
was  built  on  the  site  where  the  present  one  now  stands. 
As  early  as  1617  there  were  eleven  Spanish  mission  churches 
within  the  limits  of  what  is  now  New  Mexico,  — at  Pecos, 
Jemez,  and  Taos ; at  Santa  Clara,  San  Felipe,  and  other 
places,  mostly  within  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande.  In 
six  of  the  historic  “seven  cities  of  Cibola,”  all  Zuhi 


14 


210  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


towns,  these  missions  were  established ; and  in  the  ancient 
pueblo  of  San  Antonio  de  Senecu,  Antonio  de  Arteaga 
founded  a church  in  1629 ; in  Picuries,  in  1632,  Friar 
Ascencion  de  Zarate  established  the  mission,  and  in^  1635 
one  also  in  Isleta.  In  passing  Glorieta,  from  the  train 
windows,  to-day,  can  be  seen  the  ruins  of  the  early 
mission  church  established  there.  Before  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century  the  churches  in  Acoma,  Alameda, 
Santa  Cruz,  Cuaray,  and  Tabira  had  been  founded,  the 
ruins  of  all  of  which  are  still  standing.  These  Franciscan 
Fathers  penetrated  the  desert  and  made  their  habita- 
tions in  solitary  wastes  so  desolate  that  no  colonizers 
would  follow;  but  t&  the  Indians  they  preached  and 
taught  them  the  elements  of  civilized  life. 

“ Not  the  wildest  conceptions  of  the  mission  founders 
could  have  foreseen  the  results  of  their  California  enter- 
prises,” says  Professor  George  Wharton  James  in  his  in- 
teresting work  on  these  old  missions.^  “ To  see  the  land 
they  found  in  the  possession  of  thousands  of  savages  con- 
verted in  one  short  century,  to  the  home  of  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  happy,  contented  people,  would  have  been  a 
wild  vision  indeed.  God  surely  does  work  mysteriously, 
marvellously.  His  wonders  to  perform.” 

Santa  Fe  is  the  centre  of  the  archdiocese  whose  other 
diocesean  cities  are  Denver  and  Tucson.  The  archbishop, 
the  Most  Reverend  J.  B.  Salpointe,  D.D.,  whose  presence 

1 In  and  Out  of  the  Old  Missions  of  California,  by  George  Wharton 
James.  Little,  Brown,  & Co.,  Boston,  1905. 


SAN  MIGUEL  CHURCH, SANTA  EE 


THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE  211 


exalts  the  city  of  his  residence,  is  one  who  follows  rever- 
ently in  the  footsteps  of  Him  whose  kingdom  on  earth 
the  early  Franciscans  labored  to  establish. 

In  1708  San  Miguel  was  restored  by  Governor  Jose 
Chacon  Medina  Salazar  y Villasenor,  Marques  de  Pehuela, 
and  two  years  later  these  restorations  were  completed. **  An 
inscription  that  can  be  traced  to-day  on  the  gallery  bears 
this  legend : 

El  Senor  Marques  de  la  Penuela  Hizo  Esta  Fabrica : El 
Alferez  real  Don  Augustin  Flores  Vergara  su  criado.  Afio 
de  1710. 

Not  only  is  this  “ City  of  the  Holy  Faith  ” consecrated 
by  that  sacrificial  devotion  of  the  Franciscan  Fathers ; the 
heroic  explorers  and  pioneers,  the  brave  and  dauntless 
soldiers,  from  the  time  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  Coronado  to 
that  of  the  gallant  and  noble  General  Kearny,  have  left 
on  Santa  Fe  the  impress  of  their  brave  purpose  and  high 
endeavor.  The  old  Cathedral  of  San  Francisco,  the  ancient 
church  of  San  Miguel,  and  the  Rosario  Chapel,  all  interest 
the  stranger.  In  1692  Diego  de  Vargas  marched  up  from 
the  south  with  two  hundred  men  and  looked  sadly  at  the 
little  town  of  Santa  Fe,  from  which  his  countrymen  had 
been  driven.  It  would  seem  that  de  Vargas  was  a roman- 
tic figure  of  his  time.  He  was  evidently  endowed  with 
the  characteristic  vehemence  of  temperament,  intense 
energy,  and  the  genius  for  effective  action  that  marked 
the  Spanish  pioneers.  He  was  rich  in  resources  and 


212  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


manifested  a power  of  swift  decision  regarding  all  the 
perplexities  into  which  his  adventurous  life  led,  ever 
beckoning  him  on.  The  little  town  he  had  entered  ap- 
pealed to  him  in  its  impressive  beauty.  Surrounded  with 
majestic  mountains,  with  their  deep  and  mysterious  canons, 
it  was  then,  as  now,  a region  of  entrancing  sublimity. 

Adjoining  San  Miguel  is  the  old  house  where  Coronado 
is  said  to  have  lodged  in  1540.  The  “ Old  Palace,”  always 
used  by  the  Governors  of  New  Mexico,  is  partly  given  over 
to  a museum  of  Indian  and  Mexican  curiosities.  There 
is  a little  library,  open  only  every  other  afternoon  ; there 
are  many  mountain  peaks  around,  which  are  not  diffi- 
cult to  climb,  and  which  offer  charming  views.  The  new 
State  House  is  a fine  modern  building,  and  Governor 
Hager  man,  formerly  an  attache  of  the  American  Embassy 
at  St.  Petersburg,  is  alert  and  progressive  in  his  methods. 

More  than  half  the  residents  of  Santa  Fe  speak  no  Eng- 
lish, and  these  Spanish  and  Mexican  residents  have  their 
papers  in  their  own  language,  their  separate  schools,  and 
their  worship  in  the  old  Cathedral.  In  the  early  afternoon 
women  in  black,  with  black  mantillas  over  their  heads,  are 
seen  passing  up  San  Francisco  Street  and  entering  the  Ca- 
thedral, where  they  fall  on  their  knees  and  tell  their  beads 
in  the  silent  church.  Often  one  may  see  in  the  streets  a 
funeral  procession.  The  casket  is  carried  in  a cart,  and 
the  family  sit  around  it,  on  the  bottom  of  the  wagon. 
A few  friends  follow  on  foot,  and  thus  the  pathetic  and 
grotesque  little  procession  winds  on  its  way. 


THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE  213 


The  history  lying  in  the  dim  background  of  this  ancient 
Spanish  city  is  one  that  impresses  the  imagination.  It  is 
a part  of  all  that  wonderful  early  exploration  by  the 
Spanish  pioneers  of  the  vast  region  of  country  that  is  now 
known  as  Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 

In  1538  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  after  following  the  disastrous 
expedition  of  Panfilo  de  Narvaez  to  Florida,  set  forth 
with  four  men  to  penetrate  the  vast  unknown  wastes  to 
the  west,  and  without  compass  or  provisions  they  made 
their  way,  crossing  the  Mississippi  two  years  before  its  dis- 
covery by  De  Soto,  reached  the  Moqui  country,  and  finally 
arrived  in  Sinolao  with  glowing  tales  that  excited  the  en- 
terprise of  the  Spanish  conquerors  and  led  to  the  founding 
of  another  expedition  authorized  by  the  viceroy,  Mendoza. 
It  fared  forth  under  the  leadership  of  Padre  Marcos  de 
Nizza,  who  (in  1539)  entered  the  country  of  the  Pimas, 
passed  up  the  valley  of  the  Santa  Ana,  and  set  up  the 
cross,  giving  the  country  the  name  of  the  New  Kingdom 
of  San  Francisco. 

Padre  de  Nizza’s  men  were  all  massacred  by  the  Moquis, 
but  he  returned,  as  if  bearing  a charmed  life,  and  set  all 
New  Spain  aflame  with  his  tales  of  gold  and  of  glory,  and 
the  great  opportunity  to  extend  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Cross. 

Mendoza  then  proceeded  to  organize  two  other  expedi- 
tions, one  under  the  intrepid  Vasquez  de  Coronado  and  the 
other  under  Fernando  AlarCj'on.  Coronado  visited  the 


214  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


ruins  of  Casa  Grande  and  at  last  reached  the  “ Seven 
Cities,’’"  but  their  fabled  wealth  had  shrunk  to  the  sordid 
actualities  of  insignificant  huts,  and  Coronado  returned 
to  New  Spain  in  1542,  disappointed  and  dejected. 

In  the  meantime  the  expedition  of  Alarcon  had  sailed 
up  the  Gulf  of  California  (then  known  as  the  Sea  of  Cor- 
tez), and  he  discovered  the  Colorado  and  the  Gila  rivers, 
ascending  the  Colorado  in  boats  up  to  the  foot  of  the  Grand 
Canon.  Then  for  nearly  half  a century  no  further  efforts 
to  explore  this  region  were  made.  But  it  is  interesting  to 
note  that  some  eighty  years  before  the  landing  of  the  Pil- 
grims a Spanish  expedition  had  penetrated  into  the  coun- 
try which  is  now  Arizona,  and  have  left  definite  record  of 
their  discoveries. 

In  1582  Antonio  de  Espejio  explored  the  pueblos  of 
the  Zuhi  and  Moqui  tribes,  visiting  seventy-four  in  all, 
and  discovering  a mountain  rich  in  silver  ore.  From  this 
time  New  Mexico  was  under  the  rule  of  the  Spanish 
conquerors. 

Juan  de  Ohate,  who  married  Isabel,  a daughter  of  Cor- 
tez and  a great-granddaughter  of  Montezuma,  assumed 
the  leadership,  and  about  1605  the  town  of  Santa  Fe 
was  founded,  and  within  the  succeeding  decade  the  Mis- 
sion Fathers  had  built  a dozen  churches  and  their  converts 
composed  over  fourteen  thousand.  A prominent  padre  in 
this  movement  was  Eusebio  Francisco  Kino. 

Santa  Fe  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  oldest  town  in 


CLiFi-'  i>wi:llers.  within  twentv-five  miles  of 

SANTA  FE,  NEW  MEXICO 


THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE  215 


the  United  States,  having  been  established  fifteen  years 
before  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims. 

The  mission  church  of  San  Xavier  del  Bac  was  estab- 
lished at  so  early  a date  that  it  was  in  ruins  in  1768,  and 
on  its  site  was  built  the  present  one,  in  the  valley  of  Santa 
Cruz,  some  ten  miles  south  of  Tuscon.  This  mission  is  a 
rare  mingling  of  Ionic  and  Byzantine  architecture,  with 
a dome,  two  minarets,  and  castellated  exterior.  The  front 
bears  the  coat-of-arms  of  the  Franciscan  monks  — a cross 
with  a coil  of  rope  and  two  arms  below  — one  of  Cohant 
and  the  other  of  St.  Francis  d’ Assisi.  There  are  four 
fresco  paintings,  and  there  are  more  than  fifty  pieces  of 
sculpture  around  the  high  altar. 

The  missions  of  Guevara,  Zumacacori,  and  San  Xavier 
were  peculiarly  fruitful  in  good  results.  The  ruins  of 
Zumacacori  still  cover  a large  space.  The  church  is  par- 
tially unroofed  ; the  form  is  seen  to  have  been  that  of  a 
plain  Greek  cross  with  a basilica,  and  a roofless  chapel  is 
standing.  The  basilica  is  still  crowned  by  the  cross,  and 
the  vital  influence  of  this  sign  and  seal  of  faith  in  the 
Christ,  this  commemoration  of  the  sacrificial  zeal  that  ani- 
mated the  Mission  Fathers  is  still  felt  by  all  who  gaze  upon 
this  sacred  emblem  silhouetted  against  a blue  sky. 

Santa  Fe  is,  indeed,  alive  with  the  most  profound  and 
arresting  interest.  The  work  of  the  early  Spanish  mis- 
sionary priests  effected  a great  work  among  the  Indians 
in  creating  conditions  of  peace  and  industry  ; for  faith  in 


216  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


God,  taught  in  any  form,  is  not  merely  nor  even  mostly 
an  attitude  of  spirit : it  is  the  instinctive  action  of  life. 
It  permeates  every  motive  inspiring  it  with  power ; it 
vitalizes  every  effort  with  creative  energy.  Faith  in  God 
may  well  be  described  as  the  highest  possible  form  of  po- 
tency. He  who  is  receptive  to  the  Divine  Spirit  moves 
onward  like  a ship  whose  sails  are  set  to  the*  favoring  winds. 
He  who  is  unreceptive  to  the  Divine  Spirit  is  like  the  ship 
before  the  wind  with  all  her  sails  furled.  “ The  merit  of 
power  for  moral  victory  on  the  earth,”  said  Phillips  Brooks, 
“ is  not  man  and  is  not  God.  It  is  God  and  man,  not 
two,  but  one,  not  meeting  accidentally,  not  running  to- 
gether in  emergencies  only  to  separate  again  when  the 
emergency  is  over  ; it  is  God  and  man  belonging  essentially 
together,  — God  filling  man,  man  opening  his  life  by  faith 
to  be  a part  of  God’s,  as  the  gulf  opens  itself  and  is  part 
of  the  great  ocean.” 

The  unfaltering  devotion  of  the  Franciscan  Fathers  to 
the  work  of  bringing  civilization  and  Christianity  to  these 
Indian  pueblos  and  their  martyrdom  in  their  efforts  to  es- 
tablish “ the  true  faith  of  St.  Francis  ” invests  Santa  Fe 
with  an  atmosphere  of  holy  tradition. 

“ All  souls  that  struggle  and  aspire, 

All  hearts  of  prayer  by  Thee  are  lit ; 

And,  dim  or  clear.  Thy  tongues  of  fire 

On  dusky  tribes  and  twilight  centuries  sit.” 

These  early  Church  Fathers  taught  a pure  and  high 
order  of  faith  in  the  most  practical  wa'^.  Thev  acauired 


THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE  217 


the  Indian  language  in  sufficient  measure  to  speak  to  the 
tribes.  They  taught  them  the  rudiments  of  arithmeticj 
history,  and  geography  — in'the  imperfect  way  then  known  ; 
but  they  gave  their  best.  They  inculcated  industry  and 
honesty.  Their  faith  is  largely  told  in  the  poet’s  words,  — 

“ That  to  be  saved  is  only  this  ; 

Salvation  from  our  selfishness.” 

The  missions  through  all  the  Southwest  were  peculiarly 
fruitful  in  good  results.  The  ruins  of  many  still  exist, 
revealing  them  to  have  usually  been  in  the  general  design 
of  a nave  and  basilica  crowned  by  the  cross  — this  sign 
and  seal  of  faith  in  the  Christ. 

“ O Love  Divine  ! whose  constant  beam 
Shines  on  the  eyes  that  will  not  see, 

And  waits  to  bless  us  ; while  we  dream 
Thou  leavest,  because  we  turn  from  Thee  ! 


“ Nor  bounds,  nor  clime,  nor  creed  thou  know’st : 

Wide  as  our  need  Thy  favors  fall ; 

The  white  wings  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 

Brood,  seen  or  unseen,  o’er  the  heads  of  all.” 

Three  Spanish  documents  still  exist  in  the  territorial 
records  of  New  Mexico  dated  1693-1694,  which  give  a full 
account  of  the  Spanish  conquest ; of  the  re-conquest  by 
the  Indians,  and  the  final  conquest  again  by  the  Spaniards. 
There  is  ample  evidence  that  a city  existed  on  the  present 
site  of  Santa  Fe  four  hundred  years  before  the  settlement 
at  St.  Augustine.  The  final  Spanish  conquest  took  place 


218  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


in  1692,  but  all  the  records  prior  to  1680  were  unfortu- 
nately destroyed  in  the  Pueblo  Rebellion.  New  Mexico’s 
historian,  Hon.  L.  Bradford  Prince,  w’ho  has  more  than  once 
served  as  Governor  of  the  territory  and  who  is  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  of  the  West,  has  finely  said  that 
the  people  of  his  territory,  although  threefold  in  origin 
and  language  (Spanish,  ^Mexican,  and  American),  are  one 
in  nationality,  purpose,  and  destiny.  In  Governor  Prince’s 
history  of  New  Mexico  he  notes  its  three  determining 
epochs,  — the  Pueblo,  the  Spanish,  and  the  American,  — 
and  he  refers  to  it  as  “ an  isolated,  unique  civilization  in 
the  midst  of  encircling  deserts  and  nomadic  tribes.” 

On  August  18,  1846,  General  Stephen  W.  Kearny  took 
possession  of  the  capital  of  New  Mexico  in  the  name  of 
the  United  States  ; and  on  that  date,  for  the  first  time, 
the  national  colors  floated  from  the  Old  Palace  and  the 
acting  Spanish  Governor,  Don  Juan  Baptista  Vigil  y 
Alvarid  resigned  his  authority. 

On  the  historic  plaza  where  now  a memorial  to  this 
brave  officer  stands,  placed  there  by  the  “ Daughters  of 
the  Revoluton,”  General  Kearny  proclaimed  the  peaceful 
annexation  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States. 

We  come  as  friends  to  make  you  a part  of  the  represen- 
tative government/’  he  said.  In  our  government  all  men 
are  equal.  Eveiy  man  has  a right  to  serve  God  according  to 
his  conscience  and  his  heart.” 


THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE  219 


General  Kearny  assured  the  people  of  the  protection 
of  every  civil  and  religious  right,  and  this  forcible  and 
noble  speech  — so  characteristically  representing  the  gen- 
erous and  noble  spirit  of  one  of  the  ablest  among  the  lead- 
ers and  the  heroes  of  the  nineteenth  century  — made  a 
profound  impression  on  the  minds  of  all  who  listened  to 
the  words.  When  on  August  18  of  1946  New  Mexico 
shall  celebrate  her  centenary  of  union  with  the  United 
States,  this  memorable  address  of  General  Kearny’s  should 
be  read  to  the  assembled  populace.  Not  even  Lincoln’s 
noble  speech  at  Gettysburg  exceeds  in  simple  eloquence 
and  magnanimity  the  lofty  words  of  General  Kearny. 
They  were  worthy  to  be  spoken  in  “The  City  of  the 
Holy  Faith.” 

It  was  thus  that  New  Mexico  entered  the  United  States, 
Esto  Perpetua.  To-day,  after  a temtorial  novitiate  of 
more  than  sixty  years,  she  is  ardently  urging  her  claim 
for  statehood. 

In  old  Santa  Fe  the  past  and  the  present  meet.  Gov- 
ernor Hagerman  receives  his  guests  in  the  same  room  in 
the  Old  Palace  that  was  used  by  the  first  viceroy  ; and 
seventy-six  Spanish  and  Mexican  and  eighteen  American 
rulers  have  preceded  him,  among  whom  was  General  Lew. 
Wallace,  who,  while  serving  as  territorial  Governor,  wrote 
his  immortal  “Ben  Hur”  in  one  room  of  the  palace, 
which  is  still  pointed  out  to  the  visitor.  During  this 
period  Mrs.  Wallace  wrote  many  interesting  articles  on 


220  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


the  history,  the  life,  and  the  resources  of  the  territory,  in 
which  are  embalmed  valuable  information  delightfully 
recorded.  Mrs.  Prince,  the  wife  of  ex-Governor  Prince, 
a lady  distinguished  throughout  all  the  country  for  her 
gracious  sweetness  and  refined  dignity  of  manner,  is  much 
interested  in  the  New  Mexico  Historical  Association ; and 
the  ex-Governor  and  Mrs.  Prince,  His  Honor,  Mayor 
Cotrell,  and  Mrs.  Cotrell,  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Max  Frost, 
and  others  of  the  choice  society  of  Santa  are  pre- 
serving the  history  of  this  territory  “ that  has  survived 
all  those  strange  modulations  by  which  a Spanish  prov- 
ince has  become  a territory  of  the  Union  bordering 
on  statehood.”  Santa  Fe  is  the  home  of  some  of  the 
ablest  lawyers  in  the  United  States,  and  one  private 
law  library  is  said  to  be  the  largest  legal  library  west  of 
Chicago. 

The  Old  Palace  has  been  identified  with  the  times  of 
the  Inquisition  ; with  the  zealous  work  of  Friar  Marcos  de 
Nizza,  Friar  Augustino  Ruiz,  and  with  Coronado  and  his 
band  of  warriors.  On  the  Plaza,  Juan  de  Ohate  unfurled 
the  banner  of  Spain ; here  de  Vargas  gave  thanks  for  his 
victory,  and  here  to-day  is  a simple  monumental  memorial 
of  General  Kearny  placed  there  by  the  Daughters  of  the 
Revolution.  The  revered  memory  of  Archbishop  Lamy  is 
closely  associated  with  the  place.  In  the  Old  Palace  is  a 
musee  where  a great  array  of  unique  curios  is  gathered ; 
pictures  of  saints  rudely  painted  on  skins;  crucifixes 


THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE  221 


rudely  carved  in  wood  or  moulded  in  native  silver ; gods 
carved  in  shone,  and  primitive  domestic  utensils. 

There  is  a very  charming  and  cultivated  society  in 
Santa  Fe  of  the  small  circle  of  American  residents,  — a 
circle  that  is  of  late  rapidly  increasing.  The  country 
around  is  rich  in  gems,  — the  turquoise,  opal,  onyx,  garnet, 
and  bloodstone  being  found  in  liberal  deposits  ; and  in  the 
town  is  a manufactory  of  Mexican  filigree  work  that 
employs  the  natives  only  who  are  very  skilful  in  this  deli- 
cate art.  The  Plaza  is  a curiously  fascinating  place  to 
saunter  around,  and  the  visitor  finds  himself  loitering  and 
lingering  as  he  is  wont  to  loiter  and  linger  on  the  old 
Ponte  Vecchio  in  Florence.  The  nomenclature  of  Santa 
Fe  is  sufficiently  foreign  to  enable  one  to  fancy  himself 
in  Andalusia,  as  such  names  as  Padilla,  Quintona,  Lopez, 
Gutierrez,  Vaca,  and  others  recur. 

The  Rosario  Chapel,  built  by  Sehor  Diego  de  Vargas, 
stands  on  a height  overlooking  Santa  Fe  a mile  dis- 
tant from  the  Plaza  and  the  Old  Palace.  Near  it  is 
now  located  the  Ramona  School  for  the  children  of  the 
Apaches.  The  legend  of  the  founding  of  San  Rosario  is 
still  on  the  air.  When,  in  1692,  Sehor  de  Vargas,  marching 
from  the  south  with  his  band  of  two  hundred  men,  gazed 
upon  the  city  from  which,  in  1680,  his  compatriots  had 
been  so  tragically  driven,  he  prostrated  himself  on  the 
ground  and  implored  in  prayer  the  protection  and  aid  of 
“ Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary,”  and  recorded  his  purpose 


/ 


222  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

that,  would  she  but  lead  him  on  to  victory,  he  would 
build,  on  the  very  site  where  he  was  kneeling,  a chapel  to 
her  name.  Arising,  he  led  his  band  on  to  assault,  and 
after  a tragic  struggle  of  eleven  hours'  duration  he  was 
victorious.  Did  the  “ Lady  of  the  Rosary  ” shield  and 
strengthen  him  ? Who  shall  venture  to  deny  it  ? 

“ More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer 
Than  this  world  dreams  of.” 

De  Vargas  had  promised  that,  in  case  the  victory  was 
granted  to  him,  he  would  have  the  statue  of  the  Virgin 
carried  from  the  cathedral  to  the  Rosario  Chapel,  as 
already  noted.  To  this  day  the  custom  is  fulfilled  ; and 
each  year,  on  the  Sunday  following  Corpus  Christi,  this 
sacred  drama  is  enacted,  with  sometimes  two  thousand 
people,  drawn  from  all  the  country  around,  forming  the 
procession.  The  statue  is  kept  in  the  chapel  a week,  with 
solemn  masses  celebrated  every  morning,  after  which  it  is 
returned  to  the  cathedral  and  the  chapel  is  closed,  not  to 
be  opened  again  until  the  octave  of  the  Feast  of  Corpus 
Christi  the  next  year. 

The  “City  of  the  Holy  Faith”  is  very  quiet  in  these 
days,  and  one  finds  little  trace  of  the  turbulent  past  when 
it  was  the  storm  centre  of  tragic  wars  and  revolutions. 
The  incessant  warfare  between  the  Spaniards  and  the 
Indians,  the  sublime  courage  and  devotion  of  Bishop 
Lamy  and  other  Fathers  of  the  Church,  constitute  a won^ 
derful  chapter  in  the  history  of  our  country. 


THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE  223 


Santa  Fe  antedates  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  by  more 
than  twenty  years.  Its  history  is  an  unbroken  record  of 
thrilling  and  romantic  events,  from  its  capture  by  the 
Pueblos  in  1680 ; the  terrible  massacre  of  the  Mission 
Fathers,  and  the  flight  of  the  Governor  to  El  Paso ; its 
conquest  again  by  de  Vargas  in  1692  ; the  change  from 
Spanish  to  Mexican  rule;  then  the  splendid  entrance  of 
General  Kearny  and  his  troops  (in  the  summer  of  1846) 
in  the  name  of  the  United  States,  down  to  the  scenes  and 
the  incidents  of  the  old  Santa  Fe  Trail  and  thence  to  the 
present  day,  when  three  railroads  have  brought  the  city 
into  close  touch  with  the  modern  life  of  which  it  still 
refuses  to  become  a part.  Still,  Santa  Fe  has  nine  mails  a 
day,  a free-delivery  postal  system,  electric  lights,  and  local 
and  long-distance  telephonic  connection.  The  Capitol, 
where  Governor  Hagerman  presides  over  the  councils  of 
state,  is  a fine  modern  building  with  a beautiful  view  from 
the  dome.  There  is  a new  Federal  Building  of  stone  in 
classic  design,  in  front  of  which  is  placed  a monument  to 
Kit  Carson.  St.  Michael's  College,  the  residence  of  the 
Archbishop,  and  the  Government  Indian  School  attract 
the  eye.  But  it  is  the  old  Santa  Fe  of  haunting  historic 
memories  that  one  dreams  of  in  the  narrow  streets,  or  in 
looking  down  on  the  town  from  a mountain-side.  The 
quaint  little  Plaza  dreams  in  the  sunshine,  which  lingers, 
as  if  with  a Benedicite^  on  the  Kearny  memorial,  while 
through  the  unshuttered  and  uncurtained  windows  of  the 


224  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

!p 

Old  Palace,  forming  one  side  of  the  Plaza,  the  antique 
debris  may  be  dimly  seen.  Should  the  ghost  of  any 
of  the  old  Spanish  warriors  peer  forth,  the  apparition 
would  hardly  produce  a ripple  of  surprise.  The  long 
colonnade  may  be  the  favorite  promenade  of  phantoms 
for  aught  one  knows,  — phantoms,  that  come  and  go, — 

“ With  feet  that  make  no  sound  upon  the  floor.” 

The  twentieth-century  sunshine  lights  up  the  dusky 
corners  wherein  are  stored  the  relics  of  the  Spanish 
conquerors  and  the  followers  of  St.  Francis.  Perchance 
Francis  d’Assisi  himself,  “revisiting  the  glimpses  of  the 
moon,”  glides  along  the  shadows,  drawn  to  the  spot  where, 
at  so  fearful  a cost  of  life  and  treasure,  his  “ holy  faith  ” was 
guarded ; or  it  may  be  the  warrior  in  his  armor  who 
for  an  instant  is  dimly  discerned  through  the  dust- 
covered  windows.  Coronado,  too,  may  haunt  this  scene. 
Many  are  those  in  the  historic  ranks  who  have  contributed 
to  the  making  of  Santa  Ye.  It  is  the  most  composite 
city  in  American  history.  The  very  air  is  vocal  with 
tradition  and  legend. 

The  little  shops  around  the  Plaza  bear  their  signs 
mostly  in  Spanish.  Yet  mingling  with  these  is  the  office 
of  Mr.  Lutz  of  the  Santa  Fe  transcontinental  line,  with 
which  the  New  Mexican  capital  is  connected  by  a branch 
to  Lamy,  on  the  main  line,  where  one  may  stand  and 
converse  with  Denver,  — a feat  which  may  surprise  the 


THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE  225 


ghost  of  Coronado  or  of  Juan  de  Ohate  were  it  looking 
on ; and  Colonel  Frost’s  daily  journal,  with  its  news  of 
the  world,  is  just  at  the  corner.  Not  far  away,  too,  is 
Mr.  Linney,  who  represents  the  United  States  Signal 
Service,  and  regards  Santa  Fe  as  a most  opportune  town 
in  which  to  pursue  his  most  up-to-date  study  of  atmos- 
pheric phenomena. 

A remarkable  personality  in  Santa  Fe  is  Colonel  Max 
Frost,  the  editor  of  “The  New  Mexican,”  the  political 
leader  of  the  Republican  party  and  a man  who,  though 
blind  and  paralyzed,  is  simply  a living  encyclopaedia  of 
historic  and  contemporary  events.  At  eight  o’clock  every 
morning  Colonel  Frost  is  in  his  office,  at  his  desk,  dic- 
tating to  three  expert  stenographers,  carrying  on  three 
different  subjects  simultaneously.  Instead  of  his  blind- 
ness being  a hindrance  to  his  work,  he  has,  by  the  sheer 
force  of  his  remarkable  energy,  transformed  the  obstacle 
into  a stepping-stone.  “ I can  do  more  work  in  ten 
minutes  than  most  men  can  in  an  hour,”  he  said,  in 
reply  to  a question,  “as,  being  blind,  I have  nothing  to 
distract  my  attention.  I put  my  mind  on  my  work  and 
keep  it  there.” 

Colonel  Frost’s  experience  is  the  most  convincing  tes- 
timony to  the  phenomenal  power  that  lies  in  mental 
concentration.  He  cannot  move  without  assistance, — 
physically  he  is  a wreck  ; yet  he  dictates  columns  of  work 
daily ; he  is  the  most  influential  leader  of  the  political 

15 


226  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


party,  and  he  is  one  of  the  makers  of  New  Mexico. 
Every  line  of  copy  in  his  daily  paper  is  read  to  him 
before  it  goes  to  press,  and  the  vigorous  and  brilliant 
editorial  page  is  largely  his  own  work.  For  four  hours, 
every  evening,  Mrs.  Frost  reads  to  him  from  the  great 
Eastern  dailies,  the  periodicals,  and  new  books.  It  is  said 
in  New  Mexico  that  Colonel  Frost  has  been  the  power 
behind  the  throne  in  territorial  legislation  since  the  time 
that  General  Lew.  Wallace  served  as  chief  executive  in 
1879. 

Colonel  Frost  went  to  Santa  Fe  from  Washington  in 
1876  as  a brilliant  young  officer,  commissioned  to  build 
a military  telegraph  line  from  Santa  Fe  to  Phoenix,  Ari- 
zona,— a distance  of  five  hundred  miles.  This  commis- 
sion attracted  great  attention,  and  Colonel  Frost  became 
at  once  a power  among  the  Spanish-American  citizens  of 
the  territory.  His  great  ability  was  widely  recognized 
by  leading  men  all  over  the  Southwest.  He  was  urged 
to  remain  and  become  a citizen  of  Santa  Fe.  As  if  to 
further  prepare  him  for  his  remarkable  life,  he  was  com- 
missioned by  the  government  to  serve  at  several  points  in 
New  Mexico  on  a variety  of  important  matters,  and  he 
thus  became  singularly  identified  with  the  general  progress 
of  the  country. 

With  all  his  extraordinary  work  in  conducting  his  paper 
and  devoting  himself  to  party  political  measures.  Colonel 
Frost  is  serving  his  temtory  as  Secretary  of  the  Bureau 


THE  STORY  OF  SANTA  FE  227 


of  Immigration  with  the  most  conspicuous  ability.  Under 
his  electric  touch  and  irresistible  energy  there  is  constantly 
prepared  and  sent  out  some  of  the  finest  transcriptions 
of  the  entire  status  of  the  country,  in  climate,  resources, 
and  opportunities ; in  achievements  already  realized  and 
in  the  potential  developments  of  the  future.  Thousands 
of  residents  have  been  drawn  to  New  Mexico  through 
the  data  so  ably  set  forth  by  Colonel  Frost,  the  matter 
being,  each  year,  revised  to  date.  He  knows,  from  per- 
sonal observation  and  intimate  contact,  every  part  of  the 
territory ; he  is  personally  acquainted  with  all  the  leading 
people ; and  no  visitor  in  the  territory  can  feel  his  trip  in 
any  sense  complete  without  meeting  Colonel  Max  Frost. 
If  every  state  and  territory  in  the  Far  West  could  com- 
mand such  efficient  service  in  the  literature  of  immigra- 
tion as  is  rendered  by  Colonel  Frost,  there  would  be  an 
appreciable  increase  of  their  settlers. 

There  are  many  eminent  men  in  Santa  Fe,  — government 
officers,  political  leaders,  gifted  lawyers,  — whom  the  stran- 
ger within  the  gates  must  recognize  as  among  the  ablest 
leaders  and  makers  of  the  nation.  A newspaper  recently 
established,  “ The  Eagle,”  ably  edited  by  Mr.  A.  J. 
Loomis,  adds  another  attraction  and  source  of  inspira- 
tion to  the  wonderful  old  city,  whose  life  still  continues  to 
illustrate  and  exalt  the  “ Holy  Faith  of  St.  Francis.” 


CHAPTER  VIII 


MAGIC  AND  MYSTERY  OF  ARIZONA 

“ . . . The  stars  are  glowing  wheels ^ 

Giddy  with  motion  Nature  reels  ; 

Sun,  moon,  man,  undulate  and  stream. 

The  mountains  flow,  the  solids  seem, 

Change  acts,  reacts  ; back,  forward  hurled. 

And  pause  were  palsy  to  the  world.  — 

The  morn  is  come : the  starry  crowds 
Are  hid  behind  the  thrice-piled  clouds  ; 

The  new  day  lowers,  and  equal  odds 
Have  changed  not  less  the  guest  of  gods 

Emerson 

Arizona  is  the  Land  of  Magic  and  of  Mystery.  It  is  the 
land  of  the  yet  undreamed-of  future,  and  it  is  also  the  region 
of  brooding  mystery,  of  strange  surprise.  Besides  its  stu- 
pendous Grand  Canon,  here  are  the  canons  of  Chiquitc, 
Marble,  Desolation,  and  Limestone  ; the  Montezuma  Well, 
Castle  Dome,  the  Four  Peaks  — rising  to  the  height  of 
several  thousand  feet,  for  hundreds  of  miles ; the  Thumb 
Buttes,  San  Francisco  Peak,  the  Tonto  Basin,  and  the  Twin 
Lake  — all  of  these  phenomenal  marvels  of  scenery  telling 
their  tale  of  the  action  of  water  and  of  fire  thousands  of 
ages  ago ; convulsions  of  nature  which  have  rent  the 


r 


I 


FETIUriED  GIANTS,  TIIIUD  FOREST,  ARIZONA 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  229 


mountains  asunder,  opened  chasms  thousands  of  feet  deep 
in  the  earth,  and  projected  the  bottom  of  a sea  into  the 
air  as  a mountain  peak,  — 

“ What  time  the  gods  kept  carnival.” 

The  gods  have,  indeed,  kept  high  carnival  in  Arizona. 
Every  aspect  of  nature  is  on  a scale  of  Titanic  magnificence. 
The  canon  systems  of  its  mountain  ranges ; the  inde- 
scribable grandeur  which  reaches  its  supreme  majesty  in 
the  Grand  Canon  ; the  wonders  of  extinct  volcanic  action  ; 
the  colossal  channels  cut  by  rushing  waters ; the  unearthly 
splendor  of  the  atmo.spheric  effects,  and  the  coloring  of 
the  skies,  — all  combine  to  render  Arizona  an  expression  of 
magical  wonder.  All  manner  of  phenomenal  conditions 
are  encountered.  The  land  is  a red  sandy  desert,  whose 
leading  productions  are  loose  stones  (lying  so  thickly  in 
the  sand  as  to  make  walking  or  driving  all  but  impos- 
sible) and  pine  trees,  petrified  forests,  and  cacti.  The 
riotous  growth  of  the  cactus  is,  indeed,  a terror  to  the 
unwary.  But  it  is  in  sunsets  and  enchantment  of  views 
and  richness  of  mines,  and  in  marvellous  curiosities  — as 
the  Petrified  Forest,  Meteorite  Mountain,  and  the  Grand 
Canon  — that  Arizona  distinguishes  herself.  She  cannot 
irrigate  her  soil  because  there  is  no  available  water.  But 
the  pine  forests  — some  of  them  — produce  lumber ; the 
mines  are  rich,  and  the  features  of  nature  unequalled  in 
the  entire  world ; while  the  exhilaration  of  the  electric 


230  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


air  and  the  wonderful  beauty  of  coloring  quite  make 
up  to  Arizona  resources  that  are  unsurpassed  if  not 
unrivalled. 

Arizona  is  not  an  agricultural  country  by  nature,  nor 
hardly  by  grace.  The  resources  are  mining  and  timber. 
Still  there  are  probably  some  twenty  million  acres  capable 
of  rich  productiveness,  on  which  wheat,  barley,  corn,  vege- 
tables of  all  kinds,  and  also  rice  and  cotton,  could  be  success- 
fully cultivated  if  irrigation  could  be  sufficiently  effected. 
The  largest  area  of  agricultural  land  lies  in  the  regions 
adjacent  to  Prescott  and  Phoenix.  This  Salt  River  Valley 
is  rich  in  alluvial  soil.  The  Gila  Valley  also  offers,  though 
in  lesser  area,  the  same  fertile  land,  and  the  valleys  of  the 
Colorado,  Chiquito,  of  Pueblo  Viejo,  the  Santa  Cruz,  the 
San  Pedro,  the  Sulphur  Springs,  and  the  great  mesa 
between  Florence  and  Phoenix,  offer  the  same  possibilities. 
The  great  problem  of  Arizona  is  that  of  irrigation,  as  most 
of  the  rivers  lie  at  the  bottom  of  inaccessible  canons  and 
present  difficulties  of  access  which  no  engineer  can  as  yet 
clearly  see  a way  to  overcome.  The  conditions  are,  how- 
ever, materially  assisted  by  the  rainy  seasons,  occurring 
usually  in  February  or  March  and  in  July  or  August, 
when  water  can  be  stored.  The  rain  itself  is  as  peculiar 
in  Arizona  as  are  other  conditions  of  this  wonderland. 
It  rains  in  sections ; it  may  rain  in  torrents  in  a man’s 
front  yard  while  the  sun  shines  in  his  back  yard;  or  if 
this  statement  has  something  of  the  flavor  of  “ travellers’  ” 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  231 


tales,  it  is  at  least  typical  of  actual  facts.  Five  minutes’ 
walking  is  often  all  that  is  required  to  carry  one  into,  or 
out  of,  a severe  downpour  of  rain.  The  clouds  follow  the 
mountain  spurs  as  invariably  as  a needle  follows  the  magnet 
and  a torrent  may  fall  on  the  mountains  above,  flashing 
down  in  a hundred  improvised  raging  cataracts  and  water- 
falls, while  in  the  valley  below  the  sun  shines  out  of  the 
bluest  of  skies.  No  panoramic  pictures  of  the  stage  ever 
equalled  the  pictorial  effects  of  a thunderstorm  in  the 
mountains,  when  the  forked  lightning  leaps  from  peak  to 
peak  in  a blaze,  through  the  air ; when  it  dashes  like  a 
meteoric  shower  from  rock  to  crag,  and  the  thunder  rever- 
berates with  the  mighty  roar  of  a thousand  oceans  beating 
their  surf  on  the  shore. 

In  Maricopa  County,  in  the  Salt  River  Valley,  new  and 
important  conditions  have  been  initiated  by  the  govern- 
ment system  of  irrigation  which  has  transformed  arid  lands 
into  fertile  gardens.  The  government  has  expended  three 
million  dollars  in  constructing  the  Salt  River  dam  (sixty 
miles  north  of  Phoenix),  which  is  the  largest  artificial  lake 
in  the  world.  This  reservoir  will  store  one  and  a half 
million  acres-feet  of  water,  drawing  it  from  the  mountain 
canons  miles  away.  Not  only  does  this  project  mean  an 
abundant  water  supply  for  a region  heretofore  useless,  but 
rich  returns  as  well. 

There  are  few  regions  which  so  attract  and  reward  the 
researches  of  the  scientist  as  does  Arizona.  The  geologist. 


232  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


the  mineralogist,  the  ethnologist,  the  archaeologist,  finds 
here  the  most  amazing  field  for  apparently  unending 
investigation  and  study.  Nor  is  the  botanist  excluded. 
The  flora  of  Arizona  offers  the  same  strange  and  unique 
developments  that  characterize  the  region  in  so  many 
other  directions.  The  cacti  flourish  in  riotous  growth. 
The  saguaro,  a giant  species,  frequently  attains  a height 
of  forty  feet.  A strange  spectacle  it  is,  with  its  pale  green 
body,  fluted  like  a Corinthian  column,  and  its  colossal 
arms  outstretched,  covered  with  immense  prickly  thorns 
and  bearing  purple  blossoms.  The  century  plant  flour- 
ishes in  Arizona.  There  is  a curious  scarlet  flower,  bloom- 
ing in  clusters,  at  the  top  of  straight  pole-like  stumps  ten 
to  fifteen  feet  in  height,  wliich  terminate  in  luxuriant 
masses  of  scarlet  blossoms  and  green  leaves,  and  grow  in 
groups  of  from  a dozen  to  fifty  together,  producing  the 
most  fascinating  color  effects  in  the  landscape.  This 
plant  is  called  the  ocotilla.  There  are  plants  which  pro- 
duce a fibrous  textile  leaf  which  the  native  Mexicans  used 
as  paper ; there  are  others  whose  roots  are  used  as  a sub- 
stitute for  soap.  The  trees  are  largely  pine,  cedar,  and 
juniper,  though  in  many  parts  of  the  state  the  rolling 
foothills  bear  forests  of  oak,  and  the  sycamore,  ash,  elder, 
walnut,  and  the  swift-growing  cottonwood  are  found  along 
the  watercourses. 

“ The  echinocactus,  or  bisnaga,  is  also  called  ‘ The  Well 
of  the  Desert,’  ” says  Dr.  Joseph  A.  Munk  in  some  interest- 


COLLKCTIOV  or  CACTI  MADE  HV  OFFICERS  AT  FORT 
McDOWEI.L,  ARIZONA,  FOR  THIS  RK'II  RE 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA 


233 


ing  sketches  of  Arizona.^  “ It  has  a large  barrel-shaped 
body,  which  is  covered  with  long  spikes  that  are  curved 
like  fishhooks.  It  is  full  of  sap  that  is  sometimes  used  to 
quench  thirst.  By  cutting  off  the  top  and  scooping  out 
a hollow,  the  cup-shaped  hole  soon  fills  with  a sap  that 
is  not  exactly  nectar,  but  can  be  drunk  in  an  emergency. 
Men  who  have  been  in  danger  of  perishing  from  thirst  on 
the  desert  have  sometimes  been  saved  by  this  unique 
method  of  well-digging.” 

Of  the  palo  verde  Dr.  Munk  notes  that  it  is  “ a true 
child  of  the  desert,”  and  he  adds  : 

No  matter  how  hot  and  dry  the  weather,  the  palo  verde 
is  always  green  and  flourishing.  At  a distance  it  resembles 
a weeping  willow  tree  stripped  of  its  leaves.  Its  numer- 
ous long,  slender,  drooping  branches  gracefully  crisscross 
and  interlace  in  an  intricate  figure  of  filigree  work.  It  has 
no  commercial  value,  but  if  it  could  be  successfully  trans- 
planted and  transported  it  w^ould  make  a desirable  addition 
to  greenhouse  collections  in  the  higher  latitudes. 

The  romantic  mistletoe,  that  is  world-renowned  for  its 
magic  influence  in  love  affairs,  grows  to  perfection  in  South- 
ern Arizona.  There  are  several  varieties  of  this  parasitic 
plant  that  are  very  unlike  in  appearance.  Each  kind  par- 
takes more  or  less  of  the  characteristics  of  the  tree  upon 
which  it  grows,  but  all  have  the  glossy  leaf  and  waxen 
berry.” 

1 Ai  izona  Sketches,  by  Joseph  A.  Munk,  M.D.  The  Grafton  Press, 
New  York. 


234  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


The  grasses  of  Arizona,  are,  in  some  places,  very  beau- 
tiful, of  a rich  velvety  green ; and  the  infinite  varieties  of 
wild  clover,  the  gramma,  the  buffalo,  the  sacatone,  and 
other  grasses,  are  richly  nutritive  and  offer  good  facilities 
for  grazing.  As  a wool-producing  country  Arizona  has  no 
rival,  the  climate  giving  the  best  of  protection  to  sheep 
with  the  minimum  of  care,  and  the  grazing  offering  ade- 
quate means  of  support ; and  stock  raising  of  all  kinds,  in- 
deed, is  destined  to  become  a great  industry  in  Southern 
Arizona. 

The  climate  of  Arizona  can  only  be  alluded  to  in  the 
plural,  as  in  the  expressive  phrase  of  one  of  Mr.  George 
W.  Cable’s  creole  characters,  “ dose  climates,”  for  Arizona 
has  all  the  climates  of  the  known  worid.  The  range  of 
choice  almost  exceeds  the  range  of  the  Fahrenheit  regis- 
tration. From  the  mountain  summit,  covered  with  snow 
for  at  least  ten  months  out  of  the  year,  to  the  heat  in 
Yuma,  which  has  scored  up  to  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  degrees  or  more,  there  are  all  varieties  and  every 
conceivable  quality  of  atmosphere.  In  the  main,  how- 
ever, the  climate  of  Arizona  is  inexpressibly  delightful. 

Dr.  Munk,  who  is  one  of  the  distinguished  physicians 
in  Los  Angeles,  has  made  a study  of  Arizona  as  a health 
resort,  and  of  its  conditions  he  says  : 

The  atmosphere  of  Arizona  is  not  only  dry,  but  also  very 
electrical ; so  much  so,  indeed,  that  at  times  it  becomes  al- 
most painful.  Whenever  the  experiment  is  tried,  sparks  can 
be  produced  by  friction  or  the  handling  of  metal,  hair,  or  wool. 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  235 


It  affects  animals  as  well  as  man,  and  literally  causes  ^the 
hair  to  stand  on  end.’  The  writer  has  on  various  occasions 
seen  a string  of  horses  standing  close  together  at  a watering- 
trough,  drinking,  so  full  of  electricity  that  their  manes  and 
tails  were  spread  out  and  floated  in  the  air,  and  the  long  hairs 
drawn  by  magnetic  attraction  from  one  animal  to  the  other 
all  down  the  line  in  a spontaneous  effort  to  complete  a circuit. 
There  are  times  when  the  free  electricity  in  the  air  is  so 
abundant  that  every  object  becomes  charged  with  the  fluid, 
and  it  cannot  escape  fast  enough  or  find  ^ a way  out  ’ by 
any  adequate  conductor.  The  effect  of  such  an  excess  of 
electricity  is  decidedly  unpleasant  on  the  nerves,  and  causes 
annoying  irritability  and  nervousness. 

The  hot  sun  sometimes  blisters  the  skin  and  burns  the 
complexion  to  a rich  nut-brown  color,  but  the  air  always 
feels  soft  and  balmy,  and  usually  blows  only  in  gentle  zephyrs. 
The  air  has  a pungent  fragrance  which  is  peculiar  to  the 
desert,  that  is  the  mingled  product  of  a variety  of  resinous 
plants.  The  weather  is  uniformly  pleasant,  and  the  elements 
are  rarely  violently  disturbed. 

In  the  older  settled  sections  of  our  country,  whenever 
there  is  any  sudden  or  extreme  change  of  either  heat  or  cold, 
wet  or  dry,  it  is  always  followed  by  an  increase  of  sickness 
and  death.  The  aged  and  invalid,  who  are  sensitive  and 
weak,  suffer  most,  as  they  feel  every  change  in  the  weather. 
There  is,  perhaps,  no  place  on  earth  that  can  boast  of  a per- 
fect climate,  but  the  country  that  can  show  the  fewest  and 
mildest  extremes  approaches  nearest  to  the  ideal.  The  South- 
west is  exceptionally  favored  in  its  climatic  conditions.” 


236  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


There  is  a legend  that  the  poetic,  musical  name,  Arizona, 
was  derived  from  “ Ari,”  a maiden  queen  who  once  ruled 
the  destinies  of  the  Primas,  and  “ Zon,”  a valley,  from  the 
romantic  configuration  of  the  state,  the  two  combining 
into  the  melodious  “ Arizona/’  The  tradition  is  sufficiently 
romantic  to  be  in  keeping  with  the  country  it  designates, 
and  nothing  tends  more  to  simplify  the  too  complex 
processes  of  life,  not  to  say  history,  than  to  apply  the  rule 
of  believing  those  things  that  appeal  to  one’s  sense  of  the 
^“eternal  fitness”  and  rejecting  those  which  do  not.  The 
apostles  of  the  simple  life  might  well  include  this  contri- 
bution toward  simplicity  as  an  axiom  of  their  faith.  At 
all  events,  as  no  other  origin  of  Arizona’s  pretty  name  is 
on  record,  one  may  indulge  himself  in  accepting  this  one 
with  a clear  conscience. 

The  authentic  Spanish  history  of  Arizona  dates  to  the 
exploration  of  Mendoza  in  1540.  For  nearly  three  hundred 
years  — until  the  treaty  of  Guadaloupe-Hidalgo  in  1866, 
when  all  the  region  north  of  the  Gila  and  Mesilla  valleys 
was  incorporated  into  the  area  of  the  United  States  — the 
Spanish  explorers  and  the  Indian  natives  were  in  perpetual 
conflict,  and  it  was  as  late  as  1863  that  Arizona  received 
its  name  and  individual  domain  as  separate  from  New 
Mexico,  with  which  it  had  been  incorporated.  At  the 
time  of  the  Guadaloupe-Hidalgo  treaty  Arizona  did  not 
contain  a single  white  settlement  in  the  north  and  west. 
Near  Tucson  and  Tuba  wex'e  a few  hundred  whites,  but  all 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  237 


the  other  portions  were  the  domain  of  the  Apaches  and 
the  Moquis.  In  1856  the  Hon.  James  Gadsden,  then 
United  States  Minister  to  Mexico,  negotiated  for  the  pur- 
chase of  this  territory  at  a price  of  ten  million  dollars,  and 
the  Mexican  colors  in  Tucson  were  replaced  by  the  Stars 
and  Stripes.  On  December  1,  1854,  a memorial  was  pre- 
sented to  the  legislature  of  New  Mexico  for  a separate  terri- 
torial organization  and  name  of  the  new  acquirement. 

Although  the  Spanish  civilization  has  long  since  receded 
into  the  dim  histone  past,  its  spirit  is  impressed  in  the 
very  air ; its  zeal  and  fervor  still,  in  some  mysterious  way, 
permeate  the  atmosphere. 

Until  1863  Arizona  remained  a portion  of  New  Mexico, 
the  separate  territorial  government  of  each  being  inaugu- 
rated at  Fort  Whipple,  near  Prescott,  — a thriving  town 
of  some  six  thousand  people,  named  for  the  historian 
whose  works  are  the  unquestionable  authority  on  matters 
of  the  Aztec  and  Spanish  civilizations.  Prescott  is  one  of 
the  young  Western  cities  that  has  a great  future.  Its 
altitude  insures  it  a delightful  climate,  the  railroad  facili- 
ties are  good,  and  it  is  in  a region  of  almost  fabulous 
mineral  wealth.  The  “United  Verde”  mine,  one  of  the 
possessions  of  Senator  Clark  of  Montana,  is  some  thirty- 
five  miles  from  Prescott  and  yields  vast  revenues.  Within 
thirty  miles  of  the  town  there  are  very  large  beds  of  onyx, 
one  of  which  covers  over  one  hundred  acres.  This  onyx 
is  found  in  all  colors,  — the  translucent  old  gold,  green. 


238  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


red,  black,  and  white,  with  much  in  richly  varied  combina- 
tions of  color.  Prescott  has  an  altitude  of  a mile  above 
the  sea  and  is  a summer  resort  of  itself  for  Phoenix  and 
other  Southern  Arizona  towns.  It  is  a distance  of  some 
three  hundred  miles  from  Ash  Fork  to  Winhelman,  and 
Prescott  and  Phoenix  are  one  hundred  miles  apart,  Pres- 
cott being  only  a hundred  miles  from  Ash  Fork  and  Phoenix 
about  the  same  distance  from  Winhelman.  Near  Pres- 
cott there  is  a curious  spot  which  is  not  less  worthy  of 
world-wide  fame  than  is  the  “Garden  of  the  Gods”  at 
Colorado  Springs ; although  the  “ Point  of  Rocks,”  as 
this  grotesque  system  of  formation  near  Prescott  is  called, 
is  little  known  to  travellers.  It  is  of  that  same  unique 
sandstone  formation  that  is  found  in  the  “ Garden  of  the 
Gods.”  Ruskin  declared  that  he  could  not  visit  America 
on  the  ground  that  it  contained  no  castles ; but  had  his 
vision  included  Colorado  and  Arizona,  with  their  wonder- 
ful sandstone  formations,  he  would  have  found  castles  galore 
so  far  as  scenic  effect  goes.  It  is  not  alone  the  “ Garden 
of  the  Gods”  and  the  “Point  of  Rocks”  that  are  mar- 
vellous spectacles,  but  all  over  the  states,  here  and  there,  on 
foothill  and  mountain  and  mesa,  these  strange,  fastastic, 
colossal  rock  formations  arise,  that  have  all  the  landscape 
effect  of  the  castles  and  towers  in  Italy. 

All  the  country  around  Prescott  is  alluring.  On  the 
branch  road  from  Ash  Fork  of  the  main  transcontinental 
line  to  Winhelman  some  three  hundred  miles  south,  there 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  239 


is  an  assortment  of  scenery  which  might  be  described  as 
warranted  to  please  every  taste.  There  are  lofty  moun- 
tains pine-clad  and  green  with  verdure  ; others  are  seen 
barren  and  bleak,  whose  sides  and  foothills  are  only  dec- 
orated with  the  debris  of  mines.  There  are  vast  desert 
solitudes  where  only  the  misshapen  cacti  grow,  looming 
up  like  giant  skeletons  in  the  air;  and  again  there  are 
glades  carpeted  with  a profusion  of  flowers  in  brilliant 
hues.  There  are  river-beds  (arroyos)  without  any  water 
and  there  are  streams  that  go  wandering  about,  in  aimless 
fashion,  devoid  of  regulation  river-beds.  Some  of  the  ar- 
royos, indeed,  have  streams  running  in  strong  currents,  but 
they  hide  these  streams  under  the  river-bed,  as  something 
too  valuable  perhaps  for  common  view.  The  clairvoyance 
of  the  scientific  vision,  however,  detects  this  fraud  on  the 
part  of  the  arroyo  at  once,  so  that  of  late  years  it  is  of  little 
use  for  any  well-regulated  river  to  hide  its  current  under 
its  bed.  It  may  just  as  well  relinquish  the  attempt  and 
let  the  stream  run  in  an  honest  Eastern  fashion,  like  the 
Connecticut  River,  for  instance,  which  is  staid  and  steady, 
like  its  state,  and  never  undertakes  to  play  pranks  with 
its  current.  Since  the  scientist  has  fixed  his  glittering  eye 
on  Colorado  and  Arizona,  all  the  gnomes  and  nixies  have 
the  time  of  their  life  to  elude  this  vigilance,  and  they 
seldom  succeed.  The  scientist  relentlessly  harnesses  them 
to  his  use ; and  though  a river  may  think  to  conceal  its 
course  by  taking  refuge  under  its  bed  instead  of  running 


240  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


honestly  along  above  it,  the  effort  is  hopeless  in  an  age 
when  the  scientist  is  abroad.  It  is  said  that  there  are  no 
secrets  in  heaven,  and  apparently  nature  is  very  like 
paradise  in  this  respect  at  least,  for  it  is  quite  useless  for 
her  to  pretend  to  keep  her  operations  to  herself.  The 
specialist,  the  expert,  surprises  every  secret  she  may 
treasure. 

Of  all  the  rivers  in  Arizona  no  one  has  more  entirely 
defied  all  the  accepted  traditions  of  staying  in  its  place 
and  keeping  within  its  own  limits  than  has  the  Colorado, 
which,  not  content  with  the  extraordinary  part  it  plays 
at  the  bottom  of  that  Titanic  chasm,  the  Grand  Canon, 
is  now  creating  an  inland  sea,  named  the  Salton  Sea,  in 
Southern  California.  Prof  N.  H.  Newell,  the  govern- 
ment expert  hydrographer  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  has  given  close  attention  to  the  Colorado  of  late, 
and  of  it  he  says  : 

. . The  Colorado  cuts  in  its  course  the  deepest  canons 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.  From  the  solid  rocks  where  it  has 
made  them,  through  hundreds  of  miles,  it  has  taken  material 
down  to  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  by  slight  but  regular  an- 
nual overflows  gradually  built  banks  on  each  side  out  into  that 
gulf.  These,  in  time,  cut  off  the  head  of  the  gulf,  leaving 
dry  a depression  in  Southern  California,  considerably  below 
sea  level,  known  as  ^ the  Salton  Sink.’  For  miles  of  its 
journey  the  Southern  Pacific  runs  below  sea  level.  Ten 
thousand  people,  approximately,  in  what  is  knowm  as  the 


■j 

r 

u 


BAD  TRAIL,  BRAND  CANON 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  241 


Imperial  Valley,  live  below  the  sea  level.  A privately  owned 
irrigation  enterprise,  on  the  Mexican  side  of  the  line,  cut  a 
gash  into  this  bank  of  the  Colorado  which  nature  had  been 
forming.  The  high  waters  came  and  man  lost  control  of  his 
artificial  channel,  with  the  result  that  the  river  thought  best 
to  pour  its  waters  back  into  the  depression  which  had  once 
been  a part  of  the  Gulf  of  California.  To  get  the  river  to 
resume  its  own  course  is  no  small  task,  and  with  it  the 
Southern  Pacific  railroad  evidently  purposes  to  grapple 
heroically. 

The  river  is  now  pouring  down  a steep  declivity  into  this 
basin,  which  is  two  hundred  feet  or  more  below  the  sea  level. 
If  this  were  allowed  to  continue,  it  would  make  a great  salt  lake 
in  Southern  California.  This  water  has  already  risen  to  the 
point  where  it  has  submerged  big  salt  works  and  fifteen  miles 
of  the  Southern  Pacific’s  overland  track,  forcing  that  com- 
pany to  build  around  the  rising  sea,  and,  unless  its  engineers 
succeed  in  routing  the  Colorado  for  its  old  destination,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  rebuild  a much  longer  piece  of  that  road. 
Some  people  have  argued  that  such  a sea  would  affect  favor- 
ably the  climate  of  Southern  California,  but  they  forget  that 
the  great  Gulf  of  California,  jutting  into  the  most  barren 
regions  of  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  seemingly  has  had 
no  good  effect  on  the  climate  of  either.  The  Salton  Sea 
would  add  only  two  per  cent  of  water  surface  to  that  part  of 
the  country,  and  so  hardly  would  do  what  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia has  not  accomplished.  Unless  the  break  is  restored, 
the  river  will  pour  into  this  basin,  forming  a very  shallow  lake, 

16 


242  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


J 


which  would  be  almost  a fr}dng-pan  under  that  semi-tropical  ^ 

sun.  This  would  continue  to  rise  until  evaporation  balanced 
the  river  flow^  and  then  would  fluctuate  with  the  seasons  of  1 
the  year,  shrinking  in  area  during  the  months  of  the  heavi- 
est evaporation  and  slightest  inflow. 

“ The  gash  in  the  river  bank  was  cut  by  a Mexican  corpora- 
tion on  that  side  of  the  international  line,  but  the  water  is 
delivered  to  a number  of  American  corporations,  so  that 
to-day  several  are  concerned  in  the  affair.  It  is  understood  j 

that  the  Southern  Pacific,  when  tlie  river  reaches  its  lowest  i 

stage,  will  put  in  a great  force  of  men  in  an  endeavor  to  get 
the  river  back  to  its  former  course.  One  great  difficulty  j 

comes  in  the  sugar-like  material  which  has  been  eroded,  in  j 

which  it  is  extremely  hard  to  insert  any  permanent  structure.  j 

A pile  one  hundred  feet  deep  will  be  driven  into  it,  and  almost  I 

as  soon  the  water,  working  in  under  it,  will  lift  it  out.”  ] 

The  SaltoH  Sea,  at  this  writing,  covers  an  area  of  over 
four  hundred  square  miles,  and  is  constantly  increasing. 

The  Southern  Pacific  Railway  that  traversed  its  border  lias 
been  driven  twice  from  its  line  and  forced  to  lay  new  ; 
roadbeds  and  tracks.  It  is  also  creating  great  confusion 
as  to  irrigation  facilities,  both  in  the  United  States  and 
in  Mexico,  within  the  region  where  it  lies  ; and  as  a 
scientific  event  it  is  one  of  the  first  magnitude,  — an  act 
in  the  drama  of  nature  made  visible  to  all. 

The  Salton  Sink  has  long  been  known  to  the  explorers 
and  visitors  of  this  region.  It  was  a vast  basin  of  some 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  243 


one  hundred  and  forty  miles  in  length  and  sixty-five  or 
seventy  in  width ; the  evident  bed  of  a former  sea,  which 
had  become  a desolate  and  barren  waste.  Sometimes  a 
mirage  — a not  unfrequent  phenomenon  in  Arizona  and 
Southern  California,  — would  transform  this  long  de- 
serted basin  into  a phantom  sea,  wonderful  in  aspect. 
To  what  extent  this  transformation  will  continue  defies 
prophecy. 

Phoenix,  the  capital  of  Arizona,  is  in  Maricopa  County, 
— a county  as  large  as  the  entire  state  of  Massachusetts. 
The  journey  of  two  hundred  miles  between  Ash  Fork  and 
Phoenix  is  one  of  the  most  uncanny  and  unearthly  sort  of 
trips,  with  mountains  resembling  a witches’  dance,  — full 
of  grotesque  wonder  and  romantic  charm,  — but  the  expe- 
rience is  almost  like  visiting  another  planet  and  coming 
under  totally  different  conditions  of  life.  Phoenix  is  both 
the  capital  and  the  metropolis  of  Arizona,  and  no  city 
west  of  the  Mississippi  is  more  popular  among  tourists  or 
is  able  to  inspire  a stronger  sentiment  of  attachment  among 
its  residents.  To  some  twelve  or  thirteen  thousand  inhab- 
itants are  added,  every  winter,  from  four  to  five  thou- 
sand tourists.  The  city  lies  in  the  centre  of  the  Salt  River 
Valley,  — that  marvel  of  the  Southwest.  The  most  im- 
portant and  valuable  agricultural  region  in  Colorado  lies 
in  Maricopa  County,  of  which  Phoenix  is  the  pet  and 
pride.  In  this  locality  the  visitor  to  Arizona  returns  to 
the  normal  day  and  daylight  world  again.  The  forest 


244  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


trees  are  not  stone  quarries,  nor  have  meteors,  wandering 
through  space,. buried  themselves  in  its  soil.  There  is  no 
need  of  colossal  magnetic  appliances  to  seek  to  discover 
and  extricate  some  submerged  star.  Nor  has  the  earth 
opened  and  disclosed  an  Inferno,  “bathed  in  celestial  fires,’’ 
as  that  of  the  Grand  Canon  far  away  to  the  northwest. 
The  streams  “ stay  put  ” within  their  legitimate  borders, 
and  are  apparently  as  firm  in  “ standing  pat  ” as  is  the 
Republican  party  over  a (new)  tariff  revision.  Maricopa 
County  pui'sues  a way  of  peaceful  prosperity,  with  no  lapse 
into  the  vaudeville  of  petrified  forests  and  buried  stars. 
Her  stars  make  their  appointed  rounds  in  the  skies,  and 
shine  nightly  upon  the  just  and  the  unjust.  In  the 
noi-thern  part  of  Maricopa  there  are  mineral  districts 
of  rich  ores,  gold  and  copper  as  well  as  silver,  lead, 
and  others,  but  chiefly  the  county  holds  her  way  as  an 
aocricultural  region,  indulcrinsj  in  no  freaks.  Canals  radi- 
ate  in  every  direction  from  the  Salt  and  the  Verde  rivers. 
The  Salt  River  Valley  is  so  level  that  a theory  prevails 
that  in  some  prehistoric  ages  it  was  smoothed  by  the 
Toltec  civilization,  which  even  preceded  that  of  the  Aztec. 
Fields  of  alfalfa,  miles  in  extent,  smile  in  the  sunshine, 
while  cattle  graze  knee-deep  in  luxurious  clover.  Orange 
groves  alternate  with  the  apple  and  apricot  orchards. 
The  date-palm,  the  fig,  and  the  olive  trees  abound.  Beau- 
tiful homes  stand  in  spacious  grounds  shaded  by  the  dark 
foliage  of  the  umbrella  tree,  through  which  gleams  the 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  245 


scarlet  of  the  oleander  and  the  brilliant  gold  of  the 
pomegranate. 

Phcenix  offers  to  the  resident  or  the  visitor  a good  pro- 
portion of  the  best  that  life  can  give  : in  good  society,  that 
which  is  intelligent,  moral,  cultured,  and  sympathetic  ; in 
an  admirable  school  system  ; in  churches  of  many  denomi- 
nations,— Catholic,  Episcopal,  Methodist,  Baptist,  Pres- 
byterian, Christian  Science,  and  others,  — all  having  their 
fine  houses  of  worship  and  earnest  congregations.  There 
is  an  excellent  and  a constantly  growing  public  library,  and 
there  are  four  daily  and  several  weekly  newspapers,  busi- 
ness blocks  that  would  do  no  discredit  to  any  large  Eastern 
city,  a circuit  telephone  system  completely  equipped,  gas 
and  water  works,  free  city  and  rural  mail  delivery,  good 
hotels,  a theatre,  and  an  opera  house.  There  are  banks 
and  a Board  of  Trade.  There  are  clubs  both  of  men  and 
women.  The  State  Normal  School  of  Arizona  is  nine 
miles  distant  — in  Tempe. 

There  are  three  railroads  tliat  centre  in  Phoenix  which 
transport  the  traveller  with  the  usual  accepted  ease  and 
luxury  of  modern  railroading  ; and  a new  road  to  form  a 
link  in  a second  Santa  Fe  transcontinental  line  will  then 
place  Phoenix  on  a trunk  road  over  which  the  Santa  Fe 
traffic  will  largely  pass. 

The  winters  in  Phoenix  are  most  attractive.  From 
October  till  May  there  is  a climate  all  balm  and  sunshine 
without  the  enervating  quality  felt  in  the  tropics.  The 


246  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

V 

region  all  around  has  good  roads,  and  driving  and  riding 
are  most  enjoyable. 

Seventy-five  miles  east  from  Phoenix,  in  the  Tonto 
Basin,  the  government  is  building  a vast  water  storage 
dam  which  it  is  expected  will  liberally  irrigate  two  hun- 
dred thousand  acres  of  land  which,  under  reclamation,  will 
produce  in  rich  abundance  both  agricultural  and  horti- 
cultural products.  The  climate  and  conditions  combine 
those  of  the  temperate  and  the  semi-tropical  zones  and 
favor  products  grown  in  both.  The  Tonto  dam  will  be, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Assouan  dam  in  Egypt, 
the  greatest  storage  enterprise  in  the  world.  It  will  be 
constructed  of  hard  sandstone  imbedded  in  cement,  making 
it  as  permanent  as  the  mountains.  It  will  be  two  hundred 
and  eighty-five  feet  above  foundations  and  only  two  hun- 
dred feet  wide  at  the  bottom.  Above  will  be  a lake  about 
twenty-five  miles  long,  with  storage  capacity  for  one  and 
a half  millions  acre-feet,  which  means  enough  water  to 
cover  that  number  of  acres  a foot  deep.  Even  to  the  best 
of  cement,  Nature  has  provided  on  the  ground  every  neces- 
sity for  construction.  Along  the  hillsides  above  is  being 
dug  a power  canal,  to  discharge  above  the  dam,  there  to 
generate  not  less  than  five  thousand  horsepower,  — more 
than  enough  for  the  demands  of  construction.  When  the 
dam  is  finished  this  power  will  be  transmitted  electrically 
to  the  vicinity  of  Phoenix,  here  to  be  used  for  pumping. 
The  government  engineers  have  made  plans  for  eventually 


5IAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  247 

developing  eighteen  thousand  horsepower,  by  harnessing 
the  falls  of  the  river  and  the  canals. 

The  Salt  River  Valley  has  more  than  fifty  thousand 
acres  devoted  to  alfalfa,  which  sometimes  yields  six  crops 
in  a year.  Wheat,  barley,  and  corn  are  also  grown,  and 
the  orange  groves  produce  the  finest  fruit  known  in  the 
Eastern  markets,  antedating  by  a month  the  California 
oranges.  Grapes,  apricots,  and  dates  abound ; and  if 
Maricopa  County  does  not  literally  as  well  as  figuratively 
find  that  her  land  is  flowing  in  milk  and  honey,  it  is 
certainly  not  for  lack  of  the  most  favorable  conditions. 

The  Arizona  strawberries,  too,  are  a feature  of  impor- 
tance in  the  fruit  market,  as  for  both  size  and  flavor  they 
absolutely  exceed  almost  any  other  in  the  United  States. 

All  this  sunny  prosperity  of  conditions  and  loveliness 
of  climate  reacts  on  life.  There  is  a poise,  a serene  con- 
fidence, and  a charm  of  good-will  and  joyous  companionship 
felt  in  Phoenix  that  give  to  this  delightful  young  city 
an  individuality  of  its  own. 

The  great  dam  now  being  built  in  the  Tonto  Basin  has 
made  it  necessary  to  destroy  the  town  of  Roosevelt,  — a 
village  of  two  thousand  inhabitants,  with  its  churches, 
schools,  water-works,  electric  lights,  and  other  appliances 
of  modern  civilization.  “ Roosevelt  must  perish,”  writes 
a press  correspondent,  ‘‘  that  a desert  may  be  made  to  bloom. 
Already  the  marvellous  engineering  work  is  well  under 
way.  The  walls  of  the  narrow  canon  through  which  Salt 


248  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


River  rushes  on  edge  are  being  locked  by  a massive  mono- 
lith of  solid  masonry,  the  highest  arch  dam  in  the  world.” 

The  writer  continues  : 

^^This  wonderful  structure  of  sandstone  and  cement  will 
be  two  hundred  and  eighty  feet  in  height  from  foundation  to 
parapet.  Placed  by  the  side  of  an  eighteen-story  skyscraper, 
this  dam  would  rise  ten  feet  above  it,  while  its  length  on  top 
would  be  more  than  two  city  blocks.  A turbulent  stream, 
with  its  enormous  floods,  will  beat  itself  into  stillness  against 
the  masonry  monster,  its  foam  and  spume  lost  in  a deep  lake 
twenty-five  miles  long  and  two  miles  wide. 

^'^By  day  and  by  night  the  dull  roar  of  dynamite  breaks 
the  desert  stillness,  and  the  canon  walls  go  crashing  down 
to  furnish  material  for  this  structure.  On  the  hill  far  above, 
the  rock  crushers  never  stop  grinding  the  limestone,  and 
great  kilns,  white  hot,  are  burning  daily  hundreds  of  barrels 
of  cement. 

When  night  comes,  myriads  of  electric  lights  burst  forth, 
weirdly  illuminating  a busy  army  of  toilers  working  gnome- 
like in  a shadowy  canon.  A star-gemmed  heaven  looks  down 
upon  a wondrous  scene,  unreal,  awesome,  and  inspiring. 

^^This  great  work  of  the  government  possesses  unusual 
attractions  for  the  engineer  and  the  layman.  It  is  located  in 
a valley  which  has  been  the  abode  of  three  races,  one  of 
which  lived  here  when  Caesar  sat  upon  his  throne.  In  an  age 
forgotten  the  cliff-dwellers  built  their  eyrie-like  homes  along 
the  canons  of  this  stream,  and  in  the  narrow  valleys  the  lines 
of  their  irrigation  canals  may  yet  be  traced.  Centuries  later 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  249 


the  Apaches  came,  and  for  many  years  their  tepees  dotted 
the  basin.  Then  came  the  white  man,  who  sought  to  recon- 
quer the  desert,  which  had  resumed  its  sway  after  the  clifl- 
dwellers  vanished. 

^^The  battle  with  unfriendly  nature  proved  too  much  for 
the  pioneer,  and  Uncle  Sam  took  a hand  in  the  fight.  No 
problems  could  daunt  his  engineers.  They  laughed  at  floods 
and  mocked  at  desolation.  A dam  site  was  discovered  sixty- 
two  miles  from  a railroad,  and  they  proceeded  to  connect  it 
with  civilization  by  a marvellous  road  which  winds  its  way  for 
forty  miles  through  deep  canons,  along  the  face  of  frowning 
precipices,  over  foaming  cataracts,  and  across  broad  areas  of 
treeless  desert.  It  opens  up  to  the  transcontinental  traveller 
a new  region  of  compelling  interest  and  of  splendid  scenery. 
Better  than  that,  it  provides  an  easy  thoroughfare  for  the 
transportation  of  heavy  machinery  of  all  kinds  and  the  sup- 
plies for  the  new  community  which  sprang  into  life  almost  at 
a word. 

^^  . . . Every  stone  that  is  laid  in  the  narrow  arch,  which 
is  to  retain  the  foaming  river  now  rushing  through  the 
canon,  brings  nearer  and  nearer  the  day  when  Roosevelt 
shall  vanish  beneath  an  inland  sea.  When  the  great  dam  is 
completed,  in  1908,  and  its  massive  gates  of  steel,  weighing 
eight  hundred  thousand  pounds,  are  shut  down,  a rising  flood 
will  cover  the  site  of  the  city  with  two  hundred  feet  of 
water. 

The  ingenuity  of  man  has  been  taxed  in  this  work.  Its 
isolated  position,  the  difficult  physical  conditions,  the  tre- 


250  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


mendous  and  unexpected  floods,  have  tried  the  mettle  of  the 
engineers.  The  enormous  amount  of  cement  required  was 
in  itself  a problem  which  forced  Uncle  Sam  to  turn  manu- 
facturer in  order  to  solve  it.  Nature,  having  kindly  furnished 
an  ideal  site  for  a dam,  was  thoughtful  enough  to  provide 
materials  near  at  hand  for  making  cement.  A cement  mill 
was  quickly  erected  at  a cost  of  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  downward  rush  of  the  river  was  utilized  for  electric 
power  to  operate  the  mill,  and  many  thousand  barrels  of  first- 
class  cement  have  already  been  used  in  the  works. 

But  while  the  city  of  Roosevelt,  with  the  homes  of  its 
two  thousand  inhabitants,  is  doomed,  a fair  valley  is  to  be 
redeemed  in  which  the  agricultural  possibilities  are  not 
exceeded  anywhere  in  the  world.  Under  almost  tropical 
skies,  with  a soil  of  wonderful  fertility,  the  farmer  in  Salt 
River  Valley  will  cultivate  his  orange  groves,  his  fig  trees, 
his  vines,  while  his  broad  meadows  will  yield  him  heavy 
harvests  of  alfalfa  six  and  seven  times  a year. 

“ The  great  lake  which  will  be  created  by  the  Roosevelt 
dam  is  to  be  tapped  by  canals  hundreds  of  miles  long  and 
extending  all  over  the  broad  valley  around  Phoenix.  Vast 
areas  now  absolutely  worthless  will  be  transformed  quickly 
into  blossoming  orchards  and  purpling  vineyards,  and  hun- 
dreds of  happy  homes  will  dot  a plain  where  now  the  giant 
saguaro  rears  its  spiny  head  and  the  gila  monster  roams 
at  will.” 

Life  in  the  Far  West  is  a continual  series  of  the 
occurrence  of  such  events  as  these.  Its  problems  are 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  251 


largely  solved  by  the  civil  engineer  and  the  irrigation 
expert,  who  transform  vast  deserts  to  regions  of  blossom- 
ing beauty,  change  the  course  of  a river,  send  railroad 
trains  climbing  the  mountain  peaks  or  penetrating  be- 
neath the  range,  and  who  are,  in  short,  the  modern 
magicians  who  work  their  will  with  the  forces  of  nature. 
The  National  Reclamation  Act  is  fairly  recreating  the 
entire  Southwest. 

The  Gila  River,  which  is  the  largest  tributary  of  the 
Colorado,  flows  through  the  regions  south  of  Florence, 
Arizona,  and  aflbrds  water  to  many  fertile  and  beautiful 
valleys ; and  Florence,  with  the  towns  of  Yuma,  Tucson, 
Glendale,  Bisbee,  Winslow,  and  others,  is  fully  abreast 
in  modern  life.  Large  department  stores,  public  libraries, 
schools  and  churches,  women’s  clubs,  daily  newspapers, 
good  railroad  facilities,  free  postal  delivery,  — all  these 
make  up  the  environment  of  a splendid  and  progressive 
citizenship.  As  the  Governor  of  Arizona,  Hon.  Joseph  H. 
Kirley,  has  recently  said  : 

Nowhere  can  a man  who  respects  his  neighbor’s  rights, 
with  reasonably  strict  attention  to  his  own  business,  go  about 
with  more  freedom  and  with  greater  confidence  of  personal 
safety  than  in  Arizona.  Locked  and  barricaded  doors  are  in 
most  parts  of  Arizona  a novelty.  The  professional  thief  is 
almost  unknown  in  the  territory.” 

The  East  — at  least  the  portion  of  it  that  has  not 
personally  visited  the  magic  land  of  Arizona  — can  form 


252  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


little  idea  of  its  marvellous  resources  and  its  potent 
achievements. 

The  statehood  problem  looms  up  on  the  social  and 
political  horizon,  and  there  is  a strong  feeling  that  to 
force  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  into  union  would  do  violence 
to  the  judgment  and  the  feeling  of  the  citizens  of  Ari- 
zona. For  several  years  past  the  incipient  possibility  of 
statehood  on  these  terms  has  aroused  widespread  opposition. 

The  local  press  voices  almost  daily  the  editorial  con- 
victions that  such  a union  would  be  most  disastrous  to 
the  interests  of  Arizona  — a country  which  is  simply  a 
wonderland  of  treasure  and  rich  and  varied  resources. 
Arizona  is  settled  chiefly  by  people  from  the  great  South 
and  from  New  England,  the  Middle  West  being  hardly 
represented ; its  citizens  are  of  the  best  quality  of  our 
national  life,  and  to  unite  them  with  those  of  New  Mexico 
— a large  proportion  of  whom  can  hardly  speak  or  under- 
stand the  English  language  even,  to  say  nothing  of  their 
divergence  in  race,  requirements,  and  habits  from  the 
population  of  Arizona  — would  be  imposing  upon  them 
a century’s  delay  in  realizing  the  grand  ideals  of  educa- 
tion, moral  progress,  and  economic  development  now  pre- 
vailing in  Arizona.  ^ 

Phoenix  has  to-day  a better  public-school  system  than 
Boston,  and  other  surprising  degrees  of  progress  might 
be  related  of  many  of  the  towns. 

Hon.  N.  O.  Murphy,  twice  a Governor  of  Arizona, 


V 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  253 

has  recently  made  an  eloquent  plea  against  forcing  these 
two  territories  into  union  as  a state.  Ex-Governor  Murphy 
was  appointed  by  President  Harrison  (in  1889)  Secretary 
of  Arizona.  Under  President  Cleveland  he  was  elected 
the  Delegate  to  Congress  representing  the  territorial  in- 
terests ; and  on  the  expiration  of  this  term  he  was 
appointed  by  President  McKinley  the  Governor  of  the 
territory.  His  experience  has  given  him  the  most  inti- 
mate knowledge  and  wide  grasp  of  territorial  conditions, 
and  in  a letter  of  three  columns  over  his  own  signature  to 
the  “ Washington  Post,”  appearing  under  date  of  February 
25,  1906,  ex-Governor  Murphy  does  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  were  the  Bill  for  united  statehood  then  pending 
before  Congress  passed,  it  would  be  one  of  the  greatest 
legislative  outrages  ever  perpetrated  in  this  country.  “ I 
refer  particularly  to  the  proposed  merger  of  the  terri- 
tories of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  into  a single  state 
against  the  protests  of  the  people  of  those  territories,”  he 
added. 

The  ex-Governor  points  out  these  statistical  facts  : 

The  area  of  New  England,  comprising  six  states,  with 
twelve  senators,  is  66,465  square  miles ; the  area  of  the 
territory  of  Arizona  is  nearly  twice  as  great,  being  113,916 
square  miles. 

The  area  of  the  territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona, 
now  proposed  to  be  merged,  is  235,600  square  miles,  or 
greater  than  Maine,  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 


254  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Michigan,  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland,  and  New  Jersey,  represented  in  the  Upper 
House  now  by  twenty-two  senators.” 

The  fact  that  the  population  of  New  Mexico  is  largely 
Mexican,  and  that  of  Arizona  is  mostly  American,  sug- 
gests a potent  reason  for  the  strong  feeling  in  Arizona 
against  this  proposition.  Their  racial  instincts  and  their 
business  interests  alike  conflict.  If  they  are  joined  as  a 
single  state,  there  will  be  continual  jealousy  and  friction, 
and  legislation  to  promote  the  interests  of  one-half  the 
state  will  necessarily  be  at  the  expense  of  the  other. 

To  the  traveller  sensitive  to  the  spell  of  a strange, 
unearthly  beauty,  Arizona  prefigures  itself  as  the  country 
God  remembered  rather  than  as  “ the  country  God  forgot.” 
It  is  at  once  the  oldest  and  the  newest  of  the  states.  Its 
authentic  and  historic  past  antedates  the  coming  of  the 
Mayflower  to  the  rocky  and  desolate  December  shores  of 
Massachusetts,  while  its  future  flashes  before  one  like  an 
electric  panorama  outspeeding  wireless  telegraphy.  It  is 
the  Land  of  Magic  and  Mystery.  The  light  is  a perpet- 
ual radiance,  as  if  proceeding  from  some  alchemy  of  dis- 
tilled sunshine.  While  Colorado  is  the  Land  of  Perpetual 
Dawn,  of  an  heroic  and  poetic  achievement,  Arizona  is 
the  region  of  brooding  mystery,  of  strange  surprise. 

There  are  the  music  and  pictures  of  Arizona  in  her 
fertile  valleys,  her  wide  rolling  mesas  ; and  the  very 
melody  of  the  wind  harps  meet  and  mingle  with  the 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  255 


organ  strains  of  sweeping  orchestral  effects  of  the  winds 
in  the  canons  and  in  wild,  desolate  gorges  where  impene- 
trable twilight  renders  them  a veritable  No  Man’s  Land. 
Mr.  Aldrich’s  “Two  Shapes”  might  have  met  in  that  un- 
canny region  of  the  Petrified  Forest.  The  very  dance  of 
the  Brocken  may  nightly  be  seen  in  the  midnight  fissures 
and  steep  precipices  of  the  Grand  Caiion. 

It  is,  however,  essentially  the  land  of  mirage  and  mys- 
tery, this  wonderful  Arizona ! As  one  journeys  about 
he  half  fancies  that  he  hears  on  the  air  those  magic  lines  : 

“ O birds  of  ether  without  wings  ! 

O heavenly  ships  without  a sail ! ” 

Every  incredible  thing  is  possible  in  this  miracle  coun- 
try, where  purple  mountain  peaks  quiver  in  the  shimmer- 
ing golden  light,  where  ruins  of  remote  ages  stand  side 
by  side  with  the  primitive  mechanism  of  pioneer  living, 
where  snow-capped  mountain  peaks  are  watched  from 
valleys  that  have  the  temperature  and  the  productions 
of  the  tropics.  Arizona  contains  unknown  and  undreamed 
of  resources  of  gold,  copper,  and  silver.  The  state  has 
the  richest  possibilities  in  mineral  wealth  ; there  are  thou- 
sands of  square  miles  of  range  lands  ; there  is  wealth  of 
forests,  although  it  is  a part  of  the  miracle  character  of 
this  state  of  color  and  dream  life  that  its  forests  are 
almost  as  much  concealed  from  casual  view  as  are  its 
minerals  hidden  in  the  depths  of  the  earth,  for  they  are 


256  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


secluded  in  deep  canons  or  they  are  high  out  of  sight  on 
the  mountain  summits.  In  fruits  and  flowers  Arizona  has 
the  luxurious  growth  and  lavish  abundance  of  the  tropics, 
producing  grapes,  figs,  oranges,  lemons,  pomegranates, 
pineapples,  and  peaches,  — almost  everything,  indeed, 
unless  it  be  the  apples  of  Hesperides. 

Although  Arizona  has  not  the  electric  exhilaration  and 
infinite  energy  of  Colorado,  it  has  a delicious  quality, 
as  if  the  very  air  were  a caress.  Though  warm  in  the 
south,  the  heat  has  none  of  the  enervating  effect  of  the 
heat  where  humidity  combines  with  it.  The  heat  here  is  so 
dry,  the  air  so  pure,  that  there  is  little  extreme  discomfort 
even  when  the  mercury  soars  to  legendary  altitudes.  In 
winter  all  Southern  Arizona  is  a paradise  of  loveliness. 
At  this  season  the  towns  of  Florence,  Phoenix,  Tucson, 
Yuma,  and  other  points  invite  one  to  the  balmy  air,  the 
luminous  brilliant  skies,  and  the  nights,  which  are  a glory 
of  starry  illumination.  Northern  Arizona  has  a perfec- 
tion of  summer  climate,  and  the  Grand  Canon  is  destined 
in  the  near  future  to  become  one  of  the  great  summer 
resorts  of  the  world.  With  the  splendid  facilities  for 
comfort  offered  by  the  arrangements,  the  traveller  finds 
all  his  accustomed  conveniences,  and  the  canon  has  liter- 
ally all  seasons  for  its  own.  There  is  one  glory  of  July 
and  another  glory  of  January  ; there  is  a transcendent 
loveliness  of  June,  and  an  equally  indescribable  charm  of 
October.  No  month  is  without  its  special  reasons  for 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  257 

visiting  at  that  time  this  most  marvellous  scenic  wonder 
of  the  entire  earth. 

In  remote  ages  Arizona  was  evidently  an  inland  sea. 

Montezuma  Well,  on  the  Verde  River,  some  fifty  miles 
from  Prescott,  is  one  of  the  strange  spectacles  of  Arizona. 
The  well  is  on  an  elevated  mesa  of  solid  limestone.  It  has 
a circular  opening  some  six  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  as 
perfect  as  if  carved  by  a skilled  workman.  From  the 
surface  opening  down  to  the  water  is  a distance  of  some 
seventy  feet,  and  the  water  itself  is  over  one  hundred  feet 
deep.  It  is  perfectly  clear  and  pure.  Near  the  well  are 
several  cave  dwellings,  and  fragments  of  pottery  abound 
in  the  vicinity.  There  are  beds  of  lava,  also  revealing  that 
the  well  is  the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano. 

There  can  be  no  question  but  that  Arizona  is  one  of 
the  most  marvellous  regions  of  the  world.  Its  interest  to 
the  tourist  is  not  exceeded  by  that  of  the  Yellowstone, 
whose  mountains  and  geysers  and  strange  color  effects 
enchant  poet  and  painter.  For  the  canon  system  of  the 
Arizona  mountain  ranges,  the  stupendous  majesty  of 
scenic  grandeur  which  reaches  its  supreme  aspect  in  the 
Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado,  the  wonders  of  extinct 
volcanic  action,  the  colossal  channels  cut  by  the  action 
of  water,  the  unearthly  splendor  of  the  coloring  in  sky 
and  atmospheric  effects,  all  combine  to  make  this  state 
the  very  embodiment  and  visible  expression  of  magic  and 
mystery. 


17 


258  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


In  the  broken  mountain  ranges  the  detached  peaks 
extend,  with  narrow,  fertile  valleys  lying  between ; while 
deep  canons  and  wild  gorges,  with  rushing  mountain  tor- 
rents, still  further  diversify  the  grandeur  of  the  panorama. 
Five  great  rivers  add  another  impressive  feature,  — the 
Colorado,  the  San  Juan,  the  Salinas,  the  Verde,  and  the 
San  Francisco,  — this  system  of  rivers  completing  the  most 
extraordinary  combination  of  mountain,  valley,  mesa,  and 
canon  to  be  found  in  the  entire  world.  Numberless  extinct 
volcanoes  and  vast  lava  beds  add  their  fantastic  imagery ; 
and  the  metamorphic  rock  strata,  recording  the  most 
violent  volcanic  upheavals,  tell  the  prehistoric  story  of 
the  fiery  molten  flood  which  swept  over  all  this  region 
when  the  earth  was  new. 

As  has  perhaps  been  suggested  in  the  preceding 
pages,  life  in  Arzona  is  by  no  means  without  its  features 
of  entertainment.  These  include  various  aspects,  not  to 
mention  one  that  is  by  no  means  to  be  enjoyed  in  any 
of  the  great  Eastern  centres,  — that  of  the  exclusive 
annual  festivity  of  the  “ Snake  Dance.”  Chicago  and 
Paris,  New  York  and  London,  may  find  social  entertain- 
ment in  balls  and  opera,  dancing  and  dining,  but  in  Ari- 
zona one  goes  to  this  entertainment  on  the  Painted  Desert ; 
and  if  in  some  happy  summer  of  life  one’s  horoscope  has 
deflected  his  course  into  Arizona  and  Colorado,  one  comes 
to  regard  those  fascinating  localities  with  the  devotion  of 
a native  of  their  sunny  climes. 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  259 


After  all,  it  is  not  length  of  time  in  any  experience  of 
life  that  is  significant,  but  intensity  of  feeling,  and  one 
finds  himself  really  living  more  intensely  in  a few  weeks 
in  the  Far  West,  in  all  its  wonder  world,  than  in  years  or 
decades  of  his  accustomed  rounds  in  Eastern  cities. 

This  entertainment  of  the  Snake  Dance  is  furnished  by 
the  Moki  Indians  at  their  camp  some  seventy  miles  over 
the  desert  from  Flagstaff.  There  is  no  means  of  convey- 
ance save  by  wagons.  The  journey  is  over  sagebrush  and 
sand,  enlivened  by  stones  and  cacti.  The  horses  can 
make  only  slow  progress.  But  the  air  is  simply  delightful 
and  full  of  exhilaration,  and  the  particular  desert 'over 
which  those  who  fare  forth  for  this  aesthetic  spectacle 
must  pass  is  the  “ Painted  Desert,”  whose  walls  of  rocks 
and  mountains,  brilliant  in  a dream  of  color,  recede  as  they 
are  approached,  and  thus  the  entire  two  days  consumed  in 
the  journey  are  a perpetual  delight  to  the  eye.  The  way- 
farers camp  out  overnight,  and  during  the  five  days’  jour- 
ney — two  days  to  go,  two  to  return,  and  one  to  stay  — 
their  wants  are,  perforce,  reduced  to  the  most  primitive. 
As  the  festivity  lasts  only  twenty-eight  minutes,  it  is  cer- 
tainly spending  a good  deal  of  time  and  energy  in  order 
to  behold  so  brief  a spectacle.  But  one  is  told  it  is 
worth  all  the  fatigue  and  the  time.  It  is  a religious  rite 
of  the  Moki  Indians,  and  is  a prayer  for  rain.  The  descrip- 
tion of  it  is  a literal  one,  for  the  dancers  hold  from  one 
to  three  snakes  — and  rattlesnakes  at  that  — in  the  mouth 


2C0  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


as  they  perform  their  strange  gyrations.  The  dancers 
are  the  “ braves,”  while  the  squaws  chant  a crooning 
accompaniment. 

One  student  of  this  Indian  rite  has  said  : 

“ With  the  first  glow  in  the  east  the  priests  hasten  to  the 
shrine  of  the  Sun  God  with  their  offerings,  the  luminary 
himself  being  greeted  with  a prayer  or  with  songs  as  he 
slowly  emerges  from  behind  the  mesa  in  the  Far  East.  Later 
the  priests  repair  to  their  homes,  and  return  to  the  kiva, 
bearing  the  ceremonial  paraphernalia  with  which,  early  in 
the  afternoon,  they  robe  themselves  in  gorgeous  array  pre- 
paratory to  the  dance,  which  is  given  usually  before  the 
sun  sets  behind  the  San  Francisco  Peaks. 

As  the  priests  emerge  from  the  kiva,  where  they  wait  in 
line  until  all  have  appeared,  there  is  the  hush  of  expectancy 
throughout  the  village ; the  inhabitants  now  line  the  terraces, 
house-tops  and  every  available  spot  around  the  dance  plaza, 
all  being  attired  in  their  gayest  and  brightest  costumes.  In 
single  file  and  with  measured  tread  comes  the  line  of  priests. 
Entering  the  plaza,  they  wheel  about  and  begin  a slow,  short 
dance,  the  time  of  the  step  being  accompanied  by  the  shaking 
of  rattles  and  by  the  singing  of  sacred  songs.  The  dance  is 
over  all  too  soon,  when  the  spectators  return  to  their  camps 
and  the  priests  to  the  kiva,  where  great  quantities  of  food 
have  been  brought  for  them.  Finally,  in  a great  feast,  they 
break  the  fast,  which,  on  the  part  of  the  chief  priests,  has 
been  maintained  for  many  days.” 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  261 


It  is  quite  by  way  of  being  love’s  labor  lost  to  visit 
Arizona  during  that  period  of  time  devoted  to  the  Moqui 
Festival.  Apparently  the  entire  population  betake  them- 
selves to  this  entertainment,  journeying  over  the  desert 
in  their  wagons,  carrying  with  them  their  beds,  their  food, 
and  every  necessity,  for  except  what  they  t.'ike  with  them 
they  must  do  without.  But  as  all  the  world,  alas,  cannot 
or  does  not  dwell  in  Arizona,  — a region  in  which  any  one 
sunset  alone  is  worth  the  journey  there,  — and  is  thus 
deprived  of  the  unique  privilege  of  assisting  at  the  Snake 
Dance,  the  next  best  thing,  as  a substitute,  is  to  read  the 
new  work  of  George  Wharton  James  (the  author  of  “ In 
and  Around  the  Grand  Canyon  ”)  called  “ Indians  of  the 
Painted  Desert  Region.”  It  is  the  very  gateway  to  a wide 
and  deeply  interesting  knowledge  of  Indian  life  in  Arizona 
and  its  relation  to  advancing  civilization.  It  is  the  pres- 
entation of  a series  of  wonderful  landscapes  in  a vivid 
manner  of  word-picturing. 

“Wild,  weird,  and  mystic  pictures  are  formed  in  the 
mind  by  the  very  name  — Painted  Desert,”  writes  Mr. 
James.  “ The  sound  suggests  a fabled  rather  than  a real 
land.  Surely  it  must  be  akin  to  Atlantis  or  the  island 
of  Circe  or  the  place  where  the  Cyclops  lived.  Is  it  not 
a land  of  enchantment  and  dreams,  not  a place  for  living 
men  and  women,  Indians  though  they  be  ” 

It  seems  that  the  Spaniards  gave  the  name  “ El  Pintato 
Deserto  ” — the  Painted  Desert. 


262  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


“ Stand  with  me,”  writes  Mr.  James,  “ on  the  summit 
of  one  of  the  towering  mountains  that  guard  the  region, 
and  you  will  see  such  a landscape  of  color  as  exists  no- 
where else  in  the  world.  It  suggests  the  thought  of  God's 
original  palette,  where  he  experimented  in  color  ere  he 
decided  how  to  paint  the  sunset,  tint  the  sun-kissed  hills 
at  dawn,  give  red  to  the  rose,  green  to  the  leaves,  yellow 
to  the  sunflowers.  . . . Look ! here  is  a vast  field  of  al- 
kali,— fine,  dazzling  white.  Yonder  is  a mural  face  half 
a thousand  feet  high  and  two  hundred  or  more  miles  long. 
It  is  over  a hundred  miles  away,  but  it  reveals  the  rich 
glowing  red  of  its  walls,  and  between  it  and  us  are  vast 
patches  of  pinks,  grays,  greens,  carmines,  blue,  yellow, 
crimson,  and  brown,  blending  in  every  conceivable  shade 
in  a strange  and  grotesque  yet  fascinating  manner.  It 
is  a rainbow  petrified.  It  is  a sunset  painted  on  desert 
sands.” 

And  here  art  and  archaeology  may  revel.  “ History  — 
exciting,  thrilling,  tragic  — has  been  made  in  the  Painted 
Desert  region  ; was  being  made  centuries  before  Lief  Eric- 
son  landed  on  the  shores  of  Vinland  or  John  and  Sebastian 
Cabot  sailed  from  Bristol.  ...  In  the  Painted  Desert 
region  we  find  peoples  strange,  peculiar,  and  interesting, 
whose  mythology  is  more  fascinating  than  that  of  ancient 
Greece,  and  for  aught  we  know  to  the  contrary,  may  be 
equally  ancient;  whose  ceremonies  of  to-day  are  more 
elaborate  than  those  of  a devout  Catholic,  more  complex 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  263 


than  those  of  a Hindoo  Pantheist,  more  weird  than  tliose 
of  a howling  dervish  of  Turkistan.  . . . One  of  the  coun- 
tries comprised  in  the  Painted  Desert  region  is  the  theme 
of  an  epoch  . . . reciting  deeds  as  brave  and  heroic  as 
those  of  the  Greeks  at  Marathon  or  Thermopylae  ; a poem 
recently  discovered  after  having  been  buried  in  the  tomb 
of  oblivion  for  over  two  hundred  years.  Here  are  peoples 
to  whom  a written  letter  is  witchcraft  and  sorcery,  and 
yet  who  can  read  the  heavens,  interpret  the  writings  of  the 
clouds,  deserts,  and  canons  with  unerring  certainty.  . . . 
A land  it  is  of  witchcraft  and  sorcery,  of  horror  and  dread 
of  ghosts  and  goblins,  of  daily  propitiations  of  fates  and 
powers,  and  princes  of  dai  kness  and  air,  at  the  very  thought 
of  whom  withering  injuries  are  sure  to  come.’’ 

One  is  tempted  to  run  on  and  on  in  quotation  from 
this  fascinating  book,  which  depicts  the  strange  life  and 
the  marvellous  scenery  in  the  country  “ where  atmospheric 
colorings  are  so  perfect  and  so  divinely  artistic  that 
desolate  deserts  are  made  dreams  of  glory.” 

Harriet  Monroe,  the  Chicago  poet,  playwright,  and 
most  charming  of  essayists,  who  by  no  means  limits  her 
seances  with  the  Muses  to  those  particular  hours  in  whicli 
she  dons  her  singing  robes,  has  given  this  prose-poem 
picture  of  a scene  on  the  “ Painted  Desert  ” : 

^^The  rocks  lay  in  belts  as  red  as  flame,  yellow  as  gold, 
purple  as  violets,  and  they  seemed  to  shine  of  their  own 
light ; the  City  of  Rocks,  flaming  red,  and  high  as  mountains ; 


264  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


one  thousand  foot  walls  sheer  to  the  desert,  all  carved  in 
needles,  spires,  towers,  castles  — the  most  tremendous  thing 
on  earth  — there  it  lay  ! ” 

Of  the  sudden  climatic  changes  of  the  desert  Professor 
James  says  : 

“ I have  been  almost  frozen  in  its  piercing  snowstorms ; 
choked  with  sand  in  its  whirling  sandstorms ; wet  through 
ere  I could  dismount  from  my  horse  in  its  fierce  rainstorms ; 
terrified  and  temporarily  blinded  by  the  brilliancy  of  its 
lightning  storms,  and  almost  sunstruck  by  the  scorching 
power  of  the  sun  in  its  desolate  confines.  . . . With  my 
horses  I have  camped,  again  and  again,  waterless,  on  its  arid 
and  inhospitable  rocks  and  sands,  and  prayed  for  morning, 
only  to  resume  our  exhausting  journey  in  the  fiercely  beating 
rays  of  the  burning  sun  ; longing  for  some  pool  of  water,  no 
matter  how  dirty,  how  stagnant,  that  our  parched  tongues 
and  throats  might  feel  the  delight  of  swallowing  something 
fluid.  And  last  year  (1902),  in  a journey  to  the  home  of 
the  Hopi,  my  friends  and  I saw  a part  of  this  desert  cov- 
ered with  the  waters  of  a fierce  rainstorm  as  if  it  were  an 
ocean,  and  the  ‘ dry- wash  ’ of  the  Oraibi  the  scene  of  a flood 
that  for  hours  equalled  the  rapids  of  the  Colorado  River. 
Desert  though  it  is  in  the  main,  — barren,  wild,  and  desolate, 
— here  and  there  within  its  boundaries  are  fertile  valleys, 
wooded  slopes,  and  garden  spots  as  rich  as  any  on  earth ; and 
the  people  who  make  their  dwelling-place  in  this  inhospitable 
land  present  characteristics  as  strongly  contrasted  as  those 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  265 


of  nature.  Here  are  peoples  of  uncertain  and  mysterious 
origin  whose  history  is  preserved  only  in  fantastic  legends 
and  traditional  songs ; whose  government  is  as  pure  and  per- 
fect as  that  of  the  patriarchs,  and  possibly  as  ancient,  and  yet 
more  republican  than  the  most  modern  of  existing  govern- 
ments ; ^ peoples  whose  w^omen  build  and  own  the  houses, 
and  whose  men  weave  the  garments  of  the  women,  knit  the 
stockings  of  their  own  wear,  and  are  as  expert  with  needle 
and  thread  as  their  ancestors  were  with  bow  and  arrow, 
obsidian-tipped  spear,  or  stone  battle-axe.  . . . Here  are 
peoples  of  stupendous  religious  beliefs.  Peoples  who  can 
truthfully  be  designated  as  the  most  religious  of  the  world, 
yet  peoples  as  agnostic  and  sceptic,  if  not  as  learned  as 
Hume,  Voltaire,  Spencer,  and  Ingersoll.  Peoples  to  whom 
a written  letter  is  w itchcraft  and  sorcery,  and  yet  who  can 
read  the  heavens,  interpret  the  writings  of  the  woods,  deserts, 
and  canons  with  a certainty  never  failing.  . . . Here  are 
intelligent  farmers  who  for  centuries  have  scientifically  irri- 
gated their  lands  and  yet  who  cut  off  the  ears  of  their  burros 
to  keep  them  from  stealing  corn.  . . . Peoples  who  pray  by 
machinery  as  the  Burmese  use  their  prayer  wheels,  and  who 
‘plant’  supplications  as  a gardener  plants  trees  and  shrubs. 
. . . Peoples  who  are  pantheists,  sun  worshippers,  and  snake 
dancers,  yet  who  have  churches  and  convents  built  with 
incredible  labor  and  as  extensive  as  any  modern  cathedral. 
Peoples  whose  conservatism  in  manners  and  religion  sur- 
passes that  of  the  veriest  English  Tories ; who  for  hundreds 
of  years  have  steadily  and  successfully  resisted  all  efforts  to 
‘convert’  and  change  them,  and  who  to-day  are  as  firm  in 


266  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


their  faiths  as  ever.  . . . Peoples  to  whom  fraternal  organi- 
zations and  secret  societies,  for  men  and  women  alike,  are  as 
ancient  as  the  mountains  they  inhabit,  whose  lodgerooms  are 
more  wonderful,  and  whose  signs  and  passwords  more  complex, 
than  those  of  any  organization  of  civilized  lands  and  modern 
times.” 

One  of  the  most  weird  and  fascinating  experiences  in 
Arizona  is  a visit  to  “ Assamanuda,”  the  “ Country  of  the 
Departed  Spirits.”  This  is  the  poetic  name  the  Iroquois 
Indians  give  to  the  Painted  Desert.  This  vast  plain 
stretches  away  with  gigantic  horizontal  columns,  the  re- 
mains of  vast  layers  of  sedimentary  rock,  from  which  the 
rains  of  prehistoric  ages  have  washed  away  the  connect- 
ing earth,  and  the  columns  are  streaked  and  mottled  with 
scarlet,  due,  it  is  said,  to  the  oxidization  of  particles  of 
feldspar  in  the  granite  of  which  these  rocks  are  composed. 
Here  may  be  witnessed  in  its  perfection  the  Fata  Mor- 
gana. In  the  air  appear  palaces,  hanging  gardens,  and 
temples ; fountains  and  wonderful  parks  adorned  with 
sculpture ; towers  and  turreted  castles  ; beautiful  villas 
with  terraced  lawns  and  cascades  of  water  thrown  high 
in  the  air ; rose  gardens  and  hills,  where  the  deer  and  the 
antelope  are  seen  ; all  these  and  other  visions  of  loveliness 
are  pictured  on  the  air  in  a perfection  of  light  and  shading. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  fancy  that  one  is  really  gazing  into 
the  ethereal  world,  beyond  the  pearly  gates,  and  gazing 
indeed  into  “ the  country  of  departed  spirits.” 


j 


I 


BUWARA  (giant  CACTUS),  SALT  RIVEK  A'ALLEY,  ARIZONA 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  2G7 


All  Northern  and  Northeastern  Arizona  are  comprised 
in  the  region,  — Nature’s  picture  gallery.  Dr.  Newberry, 
the  geologist,  who  explored  all  the  regions  east  of  the 
upper  Colorado  as  far  as  the  junction  of  the  Green  and 
the  Grand  rivers,  thus  pictures  one  view  of  the  plateau : 

Directly  south  the  view  was  bounded  by  the  high  and  dis- 
tant mesas  of  the  Navajo  country,  succeeded  in  the  southwest 
by  the  still  more  lofty  battlements  of  the  great  white  mesa 
formerly  seen  from  the  Moqui  pueblos.  On  these  high  table- 
lands the  outlines  were  not  only  distinctly  visible,  but  grand 
and  impressive  at  the  distance  of  a hundred  miles.  Nearly 
west  a great  gap  opened  in  the  high  tablelands  through 
which  the  San  Juan  flows  to  its  junction  with  the  Colorado. 
The  distance  between  the  mesa  walls  is  perhaps  ten  miles, 
and  scattered  over  it  are  castle-like  buttes  and  slender  towers, 
none  of  which  can  be  less  than  a thousand  feet  in  height, 
their  sides  absolutely  perpendicular  and  their  forms  wonder- 
ful imitations  of  architectural  art.  Illuminated  by  the  set- 
ting sun  the  outlines  of  these  singular  objects  come  out  sharp 
and  distinct  with  such  exact  similitude  to  art  that  we  could 
hardly  resist  conviction  that  we  beheld  the  walls  and  towers 
of  some  ancient  Cyclopean  city,  hitherto  undiscovered.” 

Every  journey  in  Arizona  seems  to  lead  on  into  an 
enchanted  world.  The  gray  valley  road,  the  curious  mesa 
formations  that  stretch  into  infinite  distances  ; the  mystic 
apparition  in  the  Estrella  range  of  the  Montezuma  faces  ; 
the  ruins  of  Casa  Grande,  which  tell  their  tale  of  a massive 


268  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


city  that  once  existed  here  ; the  ruins  on  the  Rio  Verde ; 
the  mounds  and  shafts  discovered  belonging  to  some  pre- 
historic civilization  ; the  ancient  watch  tower ; the  painted 
rocks,  with  their  extensive  hieroglyphics,  — all  speak  to  the 
archaeologist  in  a language  that  fascinates  the  imagina- 
tion. Its  three  greatest  features  — the  Grand  Canon, 
regarding  which  there  is  neither  speech  nor  language ; 
the  Petrified  Forest,  and  that  Submerged  Star  known 
as  “ Meteorite  Mountain  ” — would  alone  make  it  the 
world  mecca  of  scientists ; to  say  nothing  of  the  strange 
ruins  of  prehistoric  peoples,  of  an  unearthly  beauty  of 
atmospheric  coloring,  and  of  the  contemporary  scientific 
interest  of  the  great  Lowell  Observatory  at  Flagstaff, 
or  the  splendid  progress  and  development  of  the  people. 
It  might  well  have  been  of  this  marvellous  country  that 
Emerson  wrote : 

“ And  many  a thousand  summers 
My  gardens  ripened  well. 

And  light  from  meliorating  stars 
With  firmer  glory  fell. 

“ I wrote  the  past  in  characters 
Of  rock  and  fire  the  scroll. 

The  building  in  the  coral  sea. 

The  planting  of  the  coal. 

“ And  thefts  from  satellites  and  rings 
And  broken  stars  I drew. 

And  out  of  spent  and  aged  things 
I formed  the  world  anew.  ” 


MAGIC,  ETC.,  OF  ARIZONA  269 


What  is  the  world  that  shall  be  in  this  mystic  Arizona  ? 
What,  indeed,  was  the  world  that  has  been  there  ? Im- 
agination falters  alike  before  the  stupendous  marvels  of  its 
past,  the  picturesque  splendors  of  its  future.  Its  scenic 
grandeur  will  make  Arizona  a world  centre;  the  nations 
from  afar  will  make  their  pilgrimage  to  the  sublimest 
marvels  of  all  nature’s  revelations  to  this  planet.  Here 
will  be  sought  the  counsel  of  the  gods.  The  message  of 
the  prehistoric  past  and  of  the  undiscovered  future  will 
“give  the  law  of  night  and  day”  in  wonderful  Arizona, 
the  land  of  magic  and  mystery. 


270  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  PETRIFIED  FOREST  AND  THE 
METEORITE  MOUNTAIN 

“ A spell  is  laid  on  sod  and  stone. 

Night  and  day  are  tampered  with. 

Every  quality  and  pith 
Surcharged  and  sultry  with  a power 
That  works  its  will  on  age  and  hour.’’"' 

Emerson 

A June  day  in  the  Petrified  Forests  of  Arizona  is  an 
experience  that  can  never  fade  from  memory.  Every  ex- 
cursion into  this  strange,  uncanny  realm  of  Arizona,  which 
is  an  empire  in  its  area;  every  journey  one  takes,  every 
trail  he  follows,  leads  into  strange  and  fascinating  locality  ; 
and  Adamana,  the  gateway  to  the  Petrified  Forests,  has  its 
own  spellbinding  power  for  the  tourist.  Adamana  con- 
sists of  a water  tank,  the  station,  and  two  bungalows,  in 
one  of  which  very  comfortable  entertainment  is  offered, 
and  in  the  other  of  which  dwells  a character  whom  all 
travellers  meet,  — Adam  Hanna,  a distant  relative  of  the 
late  ^Mark  Hanna,  the  original  settler  of  this  region. 
For  a long  time  the  place  was  known  as  Adam  Hanna’s, 
and  when  with  advancing  civilization  this  designation 


rHE  PETRIFIED  FOREST  271 


became  too  colloquial  for  an  up-to-date  twentieth-century 
world,  the  elision  of  two  or  three  letters  gave  the  present 
attractive  name,  — Adamana. 

To  leave  the  comfortable  ease  of  a Pullman  sleeper  at 
the  witching  hour  of  five  in  the  morning  to  stop  over  at 
Adamana  and  visit  the  Petrified  Forest  requires  a degree 
of  fortitude  beyond  that  usually  calculated.  Left  to  one’s 
self,  one  would  emulate  the  example  of  the  man  who  jour- 
neyed to  the  north  pole  to  see  a sunrise  that  occurred  only 
three  days  in  the  year.  On  the  first  two  mornings  he  re- 
fused to  rise  on  the  plea  of  the  further  extension  of  his 
opportunities;  on  the  third,  when  his  servant  reminded 
him  that  it  was  the  “ last  call,”  he  turned  over  and  philo- 
sophically remarked  that  he  would  come  again  next  year. 
But  the  dusky  porter  allows  the  tourist  no  such  margin 
for  reflection,  and  one  finds  himself  standing  in  some  won- 
derful place  spellbound  by  the  witchery  of  the  desert,  and 
the  long  train  vanishing  in  the  distance,  almost  before  he 
knows  whether  he  has  exchanged  the  land  of  dreams  for 
the  land  of  day  and  daylight  realities,  — for  this  weird  and 
mystic  panorama  of  the  infinite  desert,  with  the  bluest  of 
turquoise  skies  already  lighted  by  the  blazing  splendor  of 
the  June  sunrise,  and  the  grotesque,  uncanny  buttes  scat- 
tered at  intervals  all  over  that  vast  plain.  The  intense 
silence  was  unbroken  save  by  the  voice  and  footstep  of  the 
man  representing  the  little  bungalow  termed  the  Forest 
Hotel.  Contrary  to  one’s  preconceived  ideas  of  an  Arizona 


272  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


desert,  the  morning  was  cold,  and  the  blazing  fire  and  hot 
coffee  were  most  grateful.  But  where  was  the  “ Petrified 
Forest”?  one  marvelled.  Away  on  the  horizon  gleamed 
an  evanescent,  palpitating  region  of  shimmering  color. 
Yet  this  was  not  the  “ quarry  of  jewels,”  but  the  “ Bad 
Lands,”  which  have  at  least  one  redeeming  virtue,  what- 
ever their  vices,  — that  of  producing  the  most  aerial  and 
fairy-like  color  effects  imaginable. 

It  is  astonishing  how  swiftly  one  relinquishes  precon- 
ceived ideas  of  living  and  learns  to  get  on  without  electric 
bells,  long-distance  telephones,  and  elaborate  conveniences 
in  general,  even  to  the  prepared  air,”  strained  through 
thin  layers  of  cloth,  as  the  latest  superfine  condition 
added  to  a great  New  York  hotel,  and  adapts  one’s  self 
to  a mode  of  life  in  which  a simple  but  very  clean  room, 
primitive  food,  wonderful  air,  good,  kind  people,  and  a 
petrified  forest  to  amuse  him,  take  the  place  of  the 
complex  and  elaborate  life  of  the  great  Eastern  cities. 
At  Adamana  one  finds  himself  seventy-five  miles  from 
Gallup,  New  Mexico,  the  nearest  town  of  any  importance, 
from  which  all  household  supplies  must  be  ordered. 
When  the  coffee  gives  out,  for  instance,  seventy-five  miles 
from  a lemon  ; and  when  a Sunday  and  a holiday  have 
almost  followed  each  other,  thus  delaying  all  orders,  one 
has  then  the  most  delightful  and  spacious  opportunities 
for  experimenting  on  the  simple  life.  The  desert  offers 
other  things  ; and  while  these  do  not  include  the  menu  of 


<5^ 


THE  PETRIFIED  FOREST  273 

Sherry’s,  for  instance,  they  do  include  certain  allurements 
for  which  the  country  might  be  searched  in  vain,  as  they 
only  exist  on  the  Colorado  desert.  The  quality  of  the  air, 
the  color  of  the  sky,  the  marvel  of  color  vistas,  — all  make 
up  a new  world  in  which  one  finds  himself  fairly  question- 
ing regarding  his  own  identity.  Nor  has  he  any  apparent 
test  by  which  to  determine  — 

“ If  I am  I,  as  I do  hope  I be.” 

Perhaps,  indeed,  he  does  not  so  tenaciously  cling  to 
that  which  he  remembers  of  himself  yesterday,  and  is 
rather  interested,  on  the  whole,  in  accepting  some  pos- 
sibly new  transformation  of  his  being.  The  locality 
seems  to  him  sufficiently  well  indicated  as  being,  accord- 
ing to  his  first  impression,  simply  somewhere  in  the  magic 
and  witchery  of  space.  Tiiis  address  might  not  be  ac- 
cepted by  the  government  postal  service,  but  even  that 
heretofore  indispensable  matter  in  some  way  fades  into 
comparative  insignificance.  What  does  one  who  has  an 
Arizona  sky,  and  a bewildering  shimmer  of  color  afar  on 
the  horizon  that  might  be 

“ A painted  ship  upon  a painted  ocean  ” 

or  almost  anything  else,  — what  does  he  want  of  the 
sublunary  detail  of  eight  postal  deliveries  a day,  begin- 
ning at  half-past  seven  in  the  morning,  with  his  first 
dawn  of  returning  consciousness,  and  ending  with  mid- 
night, when  he  is,  very  likely,  summoned  out  of  his  sleep 


274  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


by  the  rap  of  a bellboy  delivering  more  mail,  — more, 
■ — as  if  he  had  not  been  under  an  avalanche  of  it  all 
day  and  had  sought  refuge  in  dreamland  for  the  very 
purpose  of  escaping  the  vigilance  of  his  national  postal 
service.  But  one  may  as  well  accept  the  fact  as  one  from 
which  there  is  no  appeal,  that  in  the  heart  of  civilization 
he  cannot  escape  its  burdens  and  its  penalties.  He  can 
only  evade  them  by  going  to  — Adamana,  for  instance  ; 
Adamana,  the  metropolis  of  the  railroad  water-tank,  the 
station,  and  two  bungalows.  Even  these  are  too  many. 
One  bungalow  is  enough.  He  cannot  repose  in  two  at 
the  same  time ; and  as  for  neighbors  and  news,  — has 
he  not  the  stars  and  the  sunsets.?  What  does  Emily 
Dickinson  say  ? — 

“ The  only  news  I know 
Is  bulletins  all  day 
From  Immortality.” 

There  are  no  birds  to 

“ . . . carol  undeceiving  things,” 

as  in  Colorado ; but  there  is,  instead,  intense  silence,  — a 
silence  so  absolutely  intense  as  to  be,  by  a paradox,  fairly 
vocal ; and  if  one  does  but  catch  the  music  of  the  spheres 
for  which  he  finds  himself  listening,  it  must  be  that  his 
powers  of  hearing  are  defective.  One  recalls  the  lines; 

“ Who  loves  the  music  of  the  spheres 
And  lives  on  earth,  must  close  his  ears 
To  many  voices  that  he  hears.” 


THE  PETRIFIED  FOREST  275 

The  “ many  voices  ” are  stilled ; one  has  left  them  at 
least  seventy-five  miles  away,  — in  Gallup,  for  instance ! 
Gallup,  that  for  the  time  prefigures  itself  to  him  as  his 
New  York,  his  Paris,  his  London.  It  is  the  source  of 
all  his  possible  supplies ; and  that  it  does  not  assume 
an  overwhelming  importance  is  simply  because  he  does 
not  want  any  supplies  of  the  particular  nature  that 
Gallup  — or  Paris  — can  furnish.  He  has  achieved  some- 
thing more  than  the  power  to  satisfy  all  his  (former) 
multitudinous  wants ; he  has  eliminated  them. 

To  be  sure,  the  Chinese  have  a proverb  that  it  is  not 
worth  while  to  cut  off  one’s  feet  to  save  buying  vshoes. 
Yet,  if  instead  of  depriving  himself  of  feet  he  has 
achieved  wings,  why,  manifestly,  there  is  no  need  of 
shoes.  There  are,  when  one  comes  to  think  of  it,  a 
vast  number  of  things  in  our  late  civilization  for  which 
there  is  no  special  need. 

“ For  a cap  and  bells  our  lives  we  pay  ; 

Bubbles  we  earn  with  a whole  soul’s  tasking  : 

’T  is  heaven  alone  that  is  given  away  ; 

’T  is  only  God  may  be  had  for  the  asking.  ” 

In  fact,  when  one  comes  to  reflect  upon  the  aspects  of 
his  former  life  (as  he  sees  them  in  mental  panorama  from 
Adamana),  he  can  only  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  life 
is  unnecessarily  choked  and  submerged  under  an  ever- 
increasing  burden  of  things.  Emerson,  of  course,  whose 
insiglit  saw  the  universe  as  a crystal  sphere  which  revealed 


276  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


to  his  vision  its  entire  working  mechanism,  — Emerson  long 
since  announced  that 

“ Things  are  in  the  saddle 
And  ride  mankind.” 

Why  should  one  be  ridden  by  things  ? Why  should 
he  enslave  himself,  — mortgage  his  entire  powers  of  achieve- 
ment, such  as  they  are,  to  pay  his  bills  to  the  butcher, 
the  baker,  and  the  candlestick  maker  ? Is  not  the  life 
more  than  meat,  and  the  spirit  than  fine  raiment  ? So 
he  may  dream  for  the  moment,  gazing  meditatively  at  the 
water-tank,  the  station,  and  the  two  bungalows  that  com- 
prise Adamana.  Good  for  that  day  only,  at  least,  is  its 
contrast  to  the  bewildering  din  of  entrepots^  of  ports,  of 
custom-houses,  of  the  general  din  and  warfare  of  the 
world  he  has  left  behind. 

Holbrook,  the  other  station  for  the  Petrified  Forests, 
is  twenty  miles  away.  Flagstaff,  a very  thriving  and  in- 
teresting Arizona  town,  famous  as  the  site  of  the  Observa- 
tory of  Prof.  Percival  Lowell  of  Boston,  is  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  to  the  west ; and  one  hour  of  railroad 
journey  beyond  Flagstaff  is  Williams,  the  town  from 
which  runs  the  branch  railroad  to  the  Grand  Canon  over 
the  rolling  mesas  crowned  with  the  beautiful  peaks  of  the 
San  Francisco  mountains,  a distance  of  sixty-three  miles, 
the  journey  occupying  three  hours.  The  nearest  town 
to  Adamana  station,  in  which  a daily  paper  is  published, 
is  Albuquerque,  in  New  Mexico,  which  is  nine  hundred 


SAN  FKANCISCO  PEAK,  NEAR  FLAGSTAFF,  ARIZONA 


THE  PETRIFIED  FOREST  277 


and  thirty-five  miles  to  the  east,  almost  as  far  as  from 
New  York  to  Chicago.  The  metropolis  to  which  this 
region  looks  as  its  nearest  large  city  is  Los  Angeles, 
twenty-six  hours  distant.  So  here  one  is  out  of  the 
world,  so  to  speak,  — 

“ The  world  forgetting,  by  the  world  forgot,” — 

with  the  vast  rolling  mesas,  with  sandstone  cliffs  offering 
an  uncanny  landscape  before  the  eye,  with  the  eternal 
blue  of  Arizona  skies  bending  above,  with  a silence  so 
deep  brooding  over  the  desert  that  one  might  well  feel 
himself  on  the  moon  rather  than  on  earth,  — a silence  only 
broken  by  the  semi-daily  rush  of  the  long  overland  trains 
and  occasional  freight  lines  that  pass. 

John  Muir,  the  famous  California  naturalist,  explorer, 
and  author  of  valuable  books  on  the  Western  parks,  passed 
the  winter  of  1905-06  at  Adamana  with  his  two  daughters, 
the  Misses  Wanda  and  Helen  Muir,  and  it  is  he  who  has 
discovered  the  new  Petrified  Forest  which  he  calls  the 
“ Blue  Forest  ” — all  the  specimens  having  a deep  blue 
tone,  while  the  other  three  are  simply  quarries  of  red 
moss,  agate,  amethyst,  topaz,  pale  rose  crystals  gleaming 
against  a smoky  green  ground.  The  landscape  effect  of 
the  “ Bad  Lands  ” from  the  little  bungalow  known  as 
the  Forest  Hotel  is  of  fairy-like  enchantment.  A shimmer 
of  rose  and  gray  and  gold  and  emerald,  it  gleams  on  the 
horizon.  Lighted  by  a blazing  sunset,  it  might  well  be 


278  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


the  gates  of  a New  Jerusalem.  Anything  more  exquisite, 
and  more  ineffably  ethereal  in  coloring,  one  might  journey 
far  to  seek. 

“ Moreover,  something  is,  or  seems. 

That  touches  us  like  mystic  gleams. 

Like  glimpses  of  forgotten  dreams.” 

These  lines  may,  perchance,  come  echoing  around  one 
in  the  air  as  he  loiters  at  night  on  the  low,  long  piazza, 
while  the  myriad  meteors  of  Arizona  skies  blaze  their  way 
through  the  transparent  air  and  a sky  full  of  stars  con- 
tends with  the  moon  for  brilliancy ; the  unearthly,  deli- 
cate, ethereal  coloring  of  the  “ Bad  Lands  ” gleaming 
resplendent  on  the  distant  horizon. 

If  the  wanderer  has  fallen  upon  particularly  fortunate 
days  in  his  horoscope  and  found  Miss  Wanda  Muir  — her 
quaint  name  coming  from  her  mother,  the  daughter  of  a 
Polish  nobleman  — to  drive  him  out  to  this  marvellous 
“ forest  ” of  stone,  he  will  have  a pleasure  enhanced  by 
interesting  conversation.  A graduate  of  Berkeley  College 
in  California,  and  the  constant  companion  of  her  father  in 
his  wanderings.  Miss  Muir  is  indeed  an  ideal  guide,  and 
under  her  hand  one  June  morning  the  two  horses  sped 
along  over  the  rough,  stony  ground  at  a pace  to  set  every 
fibre  tingling.  One  of  the  features  of  the  Arizona  desert 
is  the  arroyo,  a dry  stream,  a ready-made  river,  so  to  speak, 
minus  the  water.  Some  of  these  even  have  a stream  of 
flowing  water,  only  it  is  under  the  bed  of  the  river  rather 


THE  PETRIFIED  FOREST  279 


than  on  top  of  it,  for  Arizona  is  the  land  of  magic  and 
wonder  and  of  a general  reversal  of  accepted  conditions. 

“ Sometimes  in  driving  out  here,”  said  Miss  Muir,  “ a 
cloudburst  comes  up  while  we  are  in  the  Petrified  Forests, 
and  on  returning  the  horses  have  to  swim  this  dry  stream. 
Once  the  water  was  so  high  it  came  into  the  wagon.  Not 
infrequently,  when  we  go  out  to  the  forest,  some  one  comes 
dashing  after  us  on  horseback  to  warn  us  to  get  back  as 
quickly  as  possible,  or  the  torrents  of  water  from  a sudden 
cloudburst  will  cut  us  off  altogether,  perhaps  for  a day  and 
a night.”  The  pleasing  uncertainty  of  life  in  Arizona  may 
be  realized  from  this  danger  of  being  suddenly  drowned 
in  the  arid  sands  of  a desert,  and  being  confronted  with  a 
sudden  Lodore  that  descends  from  the  heavens  on  a mid- 
summer noon.  But,  as  one  is  constantly  saying  to  himself, 
Arizona  is  the  land  of  surprises.  No  known  laws  of 
meteorology,  or  of  any  other  form  of  science,  hold  good 
here.  The  mountain  peak  transforms  itself  into  the  bot- 
tom of  a sea,  and  the  sea  suddenly  upheaves  itself  in  air 
and  figures  as  a mountain.  Arizona  is  nature’s  kaleido- 
scope ; it  is  the  land  of  transformation. 

Of  the  three  petrified  forests,  each  separated  by  a mile 
or  two,  the  first  is  reached  by  a drive  of  some  six  miles, 
while  the  third  is  more  than  twice  as  far.  The  second  is 
the  largest  and  most  elaborate,  and  in  the  aggregate 
they  cover  an  area  of  over  two  thousand  acres.  The 
ground  is  the  high  rolling  mesas,  and  over  it  are  scattered, 


280  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


“ thick  as  leaves  in  Vallombrosa,”  the  jewel-like  fragments 
of  mighty  trees  in  deposits  that  are  the  wonder  of  the 
scientist.  From  the  huge  fallen  tree  trunks,  many  of  these 
being  over  two  hundred  feet  in  length  and  of  similar  pro- 
portions in  diameter,  to  the  mere  chips  and  twigs,  the 
forests  are  transmuted  into  agate  and  onyx  and  chalcedony. 
Numbers  of  these  specimens  contain  perfect  crystals. 
They  are  vivid  and  striking  in  color,  — in  rich  Byzantine 
red,  deep  greens  and  purples  and  yellow,  white  and  trans- 
lucent, or  dark  in  all  color  blendings.  Great  blocks  of 
agate  cover  many  parts  of  the  forest.  Hundreds  of  entire 
trees  are  seen.  When  cut  transversely  these  logs  show  the 
bark,  the  inner  fibre,  and  veining  as  perfectly  as  would  a 
living  tree.  And  over  all  these  fallen  monarchs  of  a pre- 
historic forest  bends  the  wonderful  turquoise  sky  of  Arizona, 
and  the  air  is  all  the  liquid  gold  of  the  intense  sunshine. 

At  Tiffany’s  in  New  York  may  be  seen  huge  slabs  and 
sections  of  this  petrified  wood  under  high  polish.  A fine 
exhibit  of  it  was  made  at  the  Paris  exposition  in  1900, 
and  a specimen  of  it  was  presented  to  Rodin,  the  great 
sculptor,  who  was  incredulous  of  the  possibility  that  this 
block,  apparently  of  onyx,  could  have  been  wood.  Through 
all  the  forests  are  these  strange  rock  formations  called 
buttes,  rising  in  the  most  weird  shapes  from  the  sand  and 
stones  and  sagebrush  of  the  vast  desert.  What  a treasure- 
ground  of  antiquity  ! This  region,  which  seems  a plain, 
is  yet  higher  than  the  top  of  Mount  Washington,  and  the 


THE  PETRIFIED  FOREST  281 


altitude  insures  almost  perpetual  coolness.  Scientists  seem 
to  agree  in  the  theory  that  the  petrified  forests  are  a debat- 
able phenomenon  whose  origin  eludes  any  final  conclusion. 
It  is  possible  that  some  mighty  sea  suddenly  arose  — per- 
haps as  the  present  Salton  Sea  in  Southern  California  — 
and  engulfed  them.  The  land  is  partly  the  “ bad  lands  ” 
and  partly  a sandy  plain  covered  with  petrifactions.  The 
third  forest  contains  hundreds  of  unbroken  tree  trunks,  of 
which  some  are  over  two  hundred  feet  in  length.  Many 
of  these  are  partly  imbedded  in  the  earth. 

All  around  this  high  plateau  rise  on  the  horizon  sur- 
rounding cliffs  to  the  height  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  and 
more  feet,  serrated  into  ravines  and  gorges,  variegated  with 
the  sandstone  formations  in  all  their  shimmer  of  colors,  and 
indicating  that  this  basin  was  once  the  bottom  of  a sea. 

It  is  the  paradise  of  the  ethnologist  as  well  as  of  the 
geologist.  Besides  cliff  ruins  and  hieroglyphics,  almost 
anywhere,  by  chance,  one  may  find  traces  of  submerged 
walls,  and  following  these,  a man  with  an  ordinary  spade 
may  dig  up  prehistoric  pottery,  skeletons,  beads,  rings, 
and  occasionally  necklaces.  The  pottery,  both  in  design 
and  in  scheme  of  decoration,  shows  a high  degree  of 
civilization.  Who  were  these  prehistoric  peoples  who  had 
built  their  pueblos  and  created  their  implements  and 
pottery  and  were  already  old  when  Plymouth  Rock  was 
new?  Much  of  the  symbolic  creation  here  still  awaits 
its  interpreter. 


282  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


From  these  millions  of  tons  of  glistening,  shining 
blocks  and  segments  and  tree  trunks  the  tourist  is  not 
allowed  to  carry  away  specimens  carte  hlajiche,  as  form- 
erly. The  Petrified  Forests  are  now  a government  reser- 
vation, although  not  yet  one  of  the  government  parks. 
Small  specimens,  within  a reasonable  amount,  are  per- 
mitted the  tourist  as  souvenirs. 

The  Petrified  Forests  are  quarries  rather  than  forests ; 
the  great  fallen  logs,  branches,  and  chips,  lying  prostrate 
on  the  ground,  are  seen  glowing  and  gleaming  like  jewels. 
So  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  there  is  not  a human  habita- 
tion. Over  the  infinite  stretch  of  sand  and  rocks  bends 
the  bluest  of  skies,  and  here  and  there  are  prehistoric  In- 
dian mines,  and  one  ledge  of  cliffs  on  which  are  strange 
and  as  yet  undeciphered  hieroglyphics.  The  graves  of 
the  prehistoric  inhabitants  of  this  region  are  numerous, 
each  containing  rare  and  choice  specimens  of  pottery 
which  are  dug  out  intact.  This  region  seems  to  have 
been  once  thickly  populated.  The  remains  of  pueblos 
are  numerous.  Skeletons  are  constantly  being  found. 

Although  the  visitor  is  not  allowed  to  carry  away  with 
him  a trainload  or  so  of  specimens,  he  may  still  be  per- 
mitted a beautiful  cross-section  of  an  entire  tree  trunk, 
showing  all  the  veins  of  the  wood  and  the  bark,  a speci- 
men thin  enough  to  be  portable,  and  worthy  a place  in 
any  cabinet  of  curiosities,  besides  many  chips  showing  all 
the  range  of  beautiful  colors  which  abound  in  Chalcedony 


THE  PETRIFIED  FOREST  283 


Park.  In  this  park  lies  a vast  fallen  tree  trunk  that 
forms  a natural  bridge  over  a chasm,  — a bridge  that 
seems  to  be  of  solid  agate.  These  forests  are  among  the 
great  scenic  wonders  of  the  world,  and  if  they  were  in  the 
heart  of  the  Himalayas  or  some  other  especially  inacces- 
sible spot,  all  good  Americans  would  hasten  to  visit  them. 
But  our  own  wonderful  and  incomparable  scenic  grandeur 
is  neglected.  These  “ Petrified  Forests are  the  marvel 
of  the  geologist.  What  has  happened,  in  all  the  phe- 
nomena of  nature,  to  produce  this  incredible  spectacle? 
Many  scientific  men  believe  that  these  forests  did  not 
grow  on  the  spot  where  they  now  would  lie  prostrate, 
but  were  swept  down  by  floods  when  this  region  was  a 
vast  inland  sea,  and  that  they  became  imbedded  in  the 
sand ; that  then  the  sea  vanished  and  volcanic  eruptions 
poured  over,  and  the  wood  was  hardened  to  rock.  Again, 
a flood  of  water  passed  over  and  washed  away  the  sand 
and  silt,  and  the  erosion  left  these  thousands  of  acres  of 
petrifactions  exposed  on  the  surface  as  now ; and  thus,  after 
millenniums  have  passed,  we  have  these  quarries  of  chal- 
cedony and  agate,  onyx,  cornelian,  topaz,  and  amethyst. 

Every  evening  at  Adamana  disclosed  a sky  panorama  of 
kaleidoscopic  wonder.  Afar  to  the  horizon  the  Bad  Lands 
shimmered  in  a faint  dream  of  colors  under  the  full  moon. 
The  stars  seemed  to  hang  midway  in  the  air,  and  fre- 
quent meteors  blazed  through  the  vast,  mysterious  space. 
Adamana  is  nine  hours  from  Albuquerque,  the  metrop- 


I 


284  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


olis  of  New  Mexico,  and  five  hours  distant  from  Flagstaff, 
to  the  west.  All  the  thousands  of  acres  of  desert  lands 
about  require  only  water  to  render  them  richly  productive. 
But  water  is  unattainable.  There  are  no  mountain  ranges 
near  enough  to  produce  water  storage,  and  unless  the 
twentieth-century  scientists  discover  some  way  of  creating 
rain,  these  arid  regions  must  remain  as  they  are.  Yet 
even  here  American  life  and  energy  and  progress  are  seen. 
The  scattered  settlers  unite  in  maintaining  public  schools 
six  months  in  the  year,  and  with  only  from  twelve  to 
twenty  pupils  the  teacher  is  paid  from  seventy-five  to 
eighty  dollars  a month,  — more  than  twice  the  salary  paid 
in  the  country  schools  in  New  England.  In  the  little 
bungalow  here  at  Adamana,  where  Mr.  Stevenson,  the 
government  guardian  of  the  Petrified  Forests,  makes 
tourists  strangely  comfortable  during  their  desert  so- 
journ, one  finds  a piano,  a well-selected  little  library,  and 
young  people  whose  command  of  the  violin  and  piano  offer 
music  that  is  by  no  means  unacceptable.  The  children 
get  music  lessons — no  one  knows  how;  they  are  eager 
for  any  instruction  in  language,  and  acquire  French  and 
Spanish  in  some  measure,  and  in  all  ways  the  national 
ambition  is  sustained.  From  Albuquerque  comes  a daily 
paper,  and  only  one  day  behind  date  the  Los  Angeles 
papers  arrive.  One  is  not  out  of  the  world  (alas !)  even 
on  the  Arizona  desert. 

It  is  a new  world  in  itself,  — the  desert  of  Arizona.  No 


THE  PETRIFIED  FOREST  285 


region  on  the  earth  is  more  diversified,  more  intensely  in- 
teresting. This  desert  comprises  mountains  and  plains  ; 
it  contains  that  one  supreme  scenic  wonder  of  the  world, 
the  Grand  Canon  ; in  it  are  Canon  Diablo  and  the  Me- 
teorite Mountain.  Within  its  area  also  is  the  “ Tonto 
Basin,”  — an  incalculable  chaos  of  isolated  and  unrelated 
cliffs,  and  crags  of  mountains  peaks  that  have  lost  their 
mountains,  and  general  wreck  and  ruin.  One  might  fancy 
that  at  the  end  of  creation,  when  the  universe  itself  was 
completed,  all  the  chips  and  fragments  and  debris  in  gen- 
eral were  hurled  into  the  Tonto  Basin,  — only  that,  of 
course,  the  universe  was  never  “ made,”  but  is  always  in 
the  making ; only  that  the  physical  configuration  of  the 
entire  earth  is  always  in  process  of  transformation  into 
new  aspects,  and  nowhere  is  this  progress  of  the  ages  more 
extraordinarily  in  evidence  than  in  Arizona. 

Leaving  the  Petrified  Forest  for  the  Grand  Canon,  one 
has  a wonderful  journey  of  six  hours  to  Williams,  and 
thence  three  hours  over  the  branch  road  to  Bright  Angel, 
where  the  new  and  magnificent  hotel,  “El  Tovar,”  capti- 
vates the  travellers,  and  from  which  a stage  runs  to  Grand 
View,  thirteen  miles  away,  where  Vishnu  Temple,  the  Coli- 
seum, Solomon’s  Temple,  and  other  wonders  of  the  mar- 
vellous sandstone  architecture,  in  the  depths  of  the  Grand 
Canon  are  viewed. 

In  waiting  for  the  train  on  the  branch  road  running 
from  Williams  to  the  Grand  Canon  over  the  beautiful 


286  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


San  Franciscan  mountains,  the  hour  of  waiting  at  Williams 
is  made  a delight  by  a most  unique  and  interesting  curi^ 
osity  shop  under  the  splendid  Harvey  management,  where 
all  kinds  of  natural  curiosities  and  Indian  and  Mexican 
things  are  shown.  The  walls  are  hung  with  bright-hued 
blankets  and  rugs,  the  ceiling  is  decorated  and  draped, 
easy-chairs  and  sofas  abound,  and  these  tend  to  make  the 
journey  a kind  of  royal  progress. 

In  1540  Pedro  de  Tovar,  one  of  the  officers  who  accom- 
panied Coronado  through  his  great  expedition,  passed 
through  Arizona.  Even  then  an  extinct  civilization  was 
already  old.  The  ruins  of  the  dwellings  of  those  prehis- 
toric people  abound  near  Flagstaff.  In  the  recesses  of 
Walnut  Canon  there  are  found  cliff-dwellings  in  great 
numbers.  “Some  of  these  are  in  ruins,  and  have  but  a 
narrow  shelf  of  the  once  broad  floor  of  solid  rock  left 
to  evidence  their  extreme  antiquity.  Others  are  almost 
wholly  intact,  having  stubbornly  resisted  the  weathering 
of  time.  Nothing  but  fragments  of  pottery  now  remain  of 
the  many  quaint  implements  and  trinkets  that  character- 
ized these  dwellings  at  the  time  of  their  discovery. 

“ Fixed  like  swallows’  nests  upon  the  face  of  a precipice, 
approachable  from  above  or  below  only  by  deliberate  and 
cautious  climbing,  these  dwellings  have  the  appearance  of 
fortified  retreats  rather  than  habitual  abodes.  That  there 
was  a time  in  the  remotest  past  when  warlike  peoples  of 
mysterious  origin  passed  southward  over  this  plateau  is 


THE  PETRIFIED  I-OREST  287 


generally  credited.  And  the  existence  of  the  cliff-dwellings 
is  ascribed  to  the  exigencies  of  that  dark  period  when  the 
inhabitants  of  the  plateau,  unable  to  cope  with  the  superior 
energy,  intelligence,  and  numbers  of  the  descending  hordes^ 
devised  these  unassailable  retreats.  All  their  quaintness  and 
antiquity  cannot  conceal  the  deep  pathos  of  their  being,  for 
tragedy  is  written  all  over  these  poor  hovels  hung  between 
earth  and  sky.  Their  builders  hold  no  smallest  niche  in 
recorded  history.  Their  aspirations,  their  struggles,  and  their 
fate  are  all  unwritten,  save  on  these  crumbling  stones,  which 
are  their  sole . monument  and  meagre  epitaph.  Here  once 
they  dwelt.  They  left  no  other  print  on  time/' 

Flagstaff  is  a pleasant  mountain  town  some  seven  thou- 
sand feet  above  sea  level,  and  is  particularly  fortunate  in 
being  the  site  of  the  Lowell  Observatory,  founded  by 
Professor  Percival  Lowell  of  Boston,  which  brings  eminent 
astronomers  and  scientists  to  the  place.  In  the  Lowell 
Observatory  some  of  the  best  work  in  modern  science  is 
being  accomplished,  and  Professor  Lowell  and  his  staff 
have  for  some  years  been  devoting  themselves  to  the 
special  study  of  Mars.  Flagstaff  was  selected  for  the  site 
of  the  observatory  on  account  of  the  singularly  clear  and 
still  air  of  Arizona.  It  is  an  atmosphere  almost  without 
vibration.  Never  were  distances  more  curiously  deceiving 
to  the  eye  than  in  Arizona.  A point  that  is  apparently 
only  a few  yards  away  may  be,  in  reality,  at  a distance  of 
two  miles.  Professor  Lowell  and  his  staff  have,  therefore. 


288  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


exceptional  facilities  for  their  work,  and  Mr.  Carl  Otto 
Lampland,  the  stellar  photographer  of  the  staff,  has  taken 
impressions  of  Mars  that  seem  to  leave  little  doubt  in  the 
minds  of  experts  that  canals  on  that  planet  reflect  them- 
selves by  the  camera.  This  achievement  is  recognized  by 
astronomers  everywhere  as  marking  an  epoch  in  the  study 
of  Mars  and  as  fairly  closing  tlie  argument  regarding  the 
possibility  of  canals  on  that  body  by  bringing  their  con- 
struction there  as  an  unquestionable  fact.  It  was  Schia- 
parelli, the  Italian  astronomer,  who  first  observed  what 
he  believed  were  canals  on  Mars.  His  report  was  received 
with  incredulity  ; but  his  theory  has  been  so  reinforced  and 
supported  by  actual  results  of  observations  since  then  that 
it  is  now  generally  accepted.  Early  in  the  decade  of  1880-90 
Professor  Lowell  began  a special  study  at  Flagstaff  with  his 
fine  twenty-four-inch  telescope,  but  it  was  in  May,  1905, 
that  the  first  results  of  real  significance  were  obtained.  The 
light  about  Mars  is  said  to  be  faint,  and  the  vibrations  in 
the  air,  though  less  in  Arizona  than  is  usual  elsewhere,  still 
produced  disturbing  effects  on  the  plate.  It  is  said  that 
Mr.  Lampland  overcame  this  difficulty  after  a long  series 
of  experiments,  “ by  using  a diaphragm  on  the  telescope, 
cutting  down  the  aperture  from  twenty-four  inches  to 
twelve  inches,  as  a rule.  Though  this  diaphragming  of  a 
photographic  lens  is  not  new,  this  was  the  first  time  it  was 
applied  to  a glass  as  large  as  twenty-four  inches  in  diameter 
and  for  such  faint  objects.  Hitherto  astronomers  have 


THE  PETRIFIED  FOREST  289 


been  more  concerned  with  availing  themselves  of  the  light- 
gathering power  of  the  large  lenses.  It  was  a distinct  ad- 
vance, and  is  the  one  step  to  which  the  largest  share  of  the 
credit  is  due  of  successfully  photographing  the  canals.” 

In  the  vestibule  of  the  Institute  of  Technology  in 
Boston  were  shown  in  the  spring  of  1906  a number  of 
these  photographs.  To  the  uninitiated  they  merely  pre- 
sented a black  ground  with  white  lines  faintly  defined. 
Professor  Lowell  says  that  the  special  significance  of  the 
photographs  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  corroborate  the 
results  shown  by  other  photographers  of  Mars,  and  that 
they  also  corroborate  the  methods.  That  the  sensitive 
plate  of  the  camera  will  record  a star  never  visible 
through  even  the  strongest  glass,  and  thus  prove  its 
existence,  is  a wonderful  fact  in  stellar  photography. 

Canon  Diablo  is  one  of  the  volcanic  phenomena  of  Ari- 
zona, — a narrow  chasm  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
deep,  several  miles  long,  and  five  or  six  hundred  feet  wide, 
which  the  Santa  Fe  road  crosses  on  a wonderful  steel  spider- 
web bridge  a few  miles  before  reaching  Flagstaff.  It  is  one 
of  the  curious  things  for  which  the  tourist  is  watching. 
For  so  intensely  interesting  is  the  entire  journey  westward 
after  leaving  La  Junta  in  Colorado,  that  the  traveller 
who  realizes  the  wonderland  through  which  he  is  passing 
is  very  much  on  the  alert  for  the  landscape. 

Between  Adamana  and  Flagstaff  is  a strangely  interest- 
ing country.  Here  is  Meteorite  Mountain,  where  evidently 

19 


290  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


a huge  meteor  fell  into  the  earth  with  terrific  force,  up- 
heaving all  the  surrounding  crust  and  thus  producing  a 
mountain  with  an  enormous  cavity  in  its  centre.  For  five 
years  men  have  been  digging  here  to  find  the  meteor. 
They  have  excavated  huge  fragments  of  it.  The  vast 
hollow  crater  where  the  meteorite  is  supposed  to  have 
fallen  into  the  ground  is  a mile  wide.  In  some  frag- 
ments of  the  meteor  which  were  submitted  to  Sir  Wil- 
liam Crookes  for  examination  that  great  scientist  found 
diamonds  in  small  but  unmistakable  quantities. 

The  Meteorite  Mountain  is  situated  not  more  than  ten 
miles  south  of  Canon  Diablo,  from  which  station  the 
traveller  may  drive  to  this  phenomenal  cavity.  Within 
recent  months  shafts  are  being  projected  into  the  earth 
to  discover,  if  possible,  whether  the  meteoric  theory  is 
the  true  one.  More  and  more,  with  every  year,  is  science 
undertaking  to  “ pluck  out  the  heart  of  the  mystery  ” 
in  this  problematic  Arizona.  Prof.  G.  K.  Gilbert,  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  has  made  a special  study 
of  this  phenomenon,  and  it  is  he  who  experimented  with 
a magnetic  test,  assuming  that  if  an  enormous  meteorite 
had  hurled  itself  into  the  earth  until  it  was  buried  past 
excavation,  the  great  mass  of  metallic  iron  would  still  re- 
spond to  the  test,  and  furnish  unmistakable  proof  of  its 
presence  if  subjected  to  magnetic  attraction.  A scientific 
writer  who  has  recently  made  a study  of  Meteorite  Moun- 
tain thus  reports  the  conditions  : 


METEORITE  MOUNTAIN 


291 


The  mountain  is  about  two  hundred  feet  high,  and  there 
are  a few  stunted  pines  about  its  forbidding  looking  slopes. 
Going  to  the  top  of  this  mountain,  over  huge  masses  of 
strange-looking  rock,  one  will  find  a great  depression,  gen- 
erally called  the  crater,  though  there  are  no  evidences  of  its 
volcanic  formation.  This  crater  is  a huge  bowl  one  mile 
across  and  six  hundred  feet  deep.  The  winds  of  the  desert 
have  blown  much  sand  into  the  crater,  evidently  covering  the 
bottom  of  the  depression  to  a depth  of  many  feet.  There  is 
a level  space  of  about  forty  acres  in  the  bottom  of  the  crater. 

When  the  gigantic  meteor  fell  hissing  into  the  earth,  if 
it  ever  did  so,  the  concussion  must  have  been  terrific.  And 
in  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Indians 
near  by  have  a legend  about  a huge  star  falling  out  of  the 
heavens  and  dazzling  the  tribe  with  its  brightness.  Then 
there  was  a great  shock  and  sudden  darkness,  and  ever  since 
then  the  Indians  have  regarded  Meteorite  Mountain  with 
awe.  Some  idea  of  the  action  of  the  meteorite  can  be 
obtained  by  throwing  a stone  into  the  mud.  When  the 
meteorite  buried  itself  far  into  the  earth  the  sides  were 
heaved  up,  leaving  a rim-like  circle  about  the  depression. 
As  the  meteorite  sank  into  the  earth  it  must  have  crushed 
layers  of  red  sandstone  and  limestone.  It  is  believed  that 
the  white  sand  found  in  the  crater  and  on  the  sides  of  the 
mountain  is  from  the  sandstone  pulverized  by  the  meteor  in 
its  descent.  This  sand  was  blown  skyward  and  afterward 
settled  down  on  the  mountain,  covering  it  thickly.  No  sand 
like  it  is  to  be  found  near  the  mountain. 


292  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Men  searching  the  ground  surrounding  the  mountain  for 
a distance  of  several  miles  find  small  meteorites.  Several  of 
these  weigh  as  much  as  one  thousand  pounds,  and  others 
weigh  only  a fraction  of  an  ounce.  The  largest  pieces  were 
found  furthest  from  the  mountain.  These  meteorites  have 
been  proved  to  be  practically  non-magnetic.  This  may  ex- 
plain why  the  immense  body  of  iron  in  the  buried  meteor  has 
not  shown  any  magnetic  properties.  Needles  taken  to  the 
mountain  have  not  shown  the  presence  of  any  great  magnetic 
attraction,  and  this  fact  puzzled  scientists  until  it  was  found 
that  the  fragments  found  near  the  mountain  did  not  possess 
magnetism. 

Another  interesting  discovery  is  the  presence  of  what  is 
called  ^ iron  shale  ’ near  the  mountain.  These  are  fragments 
of  burned  or  ^ dead  ’ iron.  They  might  have  been  broken 
from  the  meteorite  at  the  time  of  the  terrific  impact,  or  they 
might  have  been  snapped  from  the  larger  body  owing  to  a 
sudden  cooling  process.  Inasmuch  as  the  Canon  Diablo 
country  was  at  one  time  an  immense  inland  sea,  another 
interesting  theory  has  been  brought  forth,  — that  the  meteor 
fell  into  this  sea,  and  that  the  great  number  of  splinters  of 
iron  in  the  neighborhood  were  caused  by  the  sudden  cooling 
of  the  molten  mass.  It  has  been  discovered  that  these  small 
meteorites  contain  diamonds.” 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Meteorite  Mountain  several 
tons  of  meteoric  fragments  have  been  found  of  which 
Prof.  George  Wharton  James  has  one,  weighing  about 
a ton,  on  his  lawn  at  his  charming  residence  in  Pasadena. 


METEORITE  MOUNTAIN  293 

4. 

There  are  also  found  in  this  vicinity  large  amounts  of  shale 
which  scientists  pronounce  analogous  to  the  meteorite,  but 
“ dead  ” ; yet  this  shale  is  highly  magnetic  and  possesses 
polarity,  — oi^e  of  the  most  mysterious  and  incomprehen- 
sible properties  of  electricity. 

Professor  Gilbert  did  nob  meet  success  when  he  tried 
the  magnetic  test,  and  in  discussing  this  matter  in  an 
address  on  “ The  Origin  of  Hypotheses,”  delivered  before 
the  Geological  Society  in  Washington  last  year,  he  said : 

Still  another  contribution  to  the^  subject,  while  it  does 
not  increase  the  number  of  hypotheses,  is  nevertheless  im- 
portant in  that  it  tends  to  diminish  the  weight  of  the  magnetic 
evidence  and  thus  to  reopen  the  question  which  Mr.  Baker 
and  I supposed  we  had  settled.  Our  fellow-member,  Mr. 
Edwin  E.  Howell,  through  whose  hands  much  of  the  meteoric 
iron  had  passed,  points  out  that  each  of  the  iron  masses, 
great  and  small,  is  in  itself  a complete  individual.  They 
have  none  of  the  characters  that  would  be  found  if  they  had 
been  broken  one  from  another,  and  yet,  as  they  are  all  of 
one  type  and  all  reached  the  earth  within  a small  district,  it 
must  be  supposed  that  they  were  originally  connected  in 
some  way. 

Reasoning  by  analogy  from  the  characters  of  other  mete- 
oric bodies,  he  infers  that  the  irons  were  all  included  in  a 
large  mass  of  some  different  material,  either  crystalline  rock, 
such  as  constitutes  the  class  of  meteorites  called  stony,’  or 
else  a compound  of  iron  and  sulphur,  similar  to  certain  nodules 


294  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

* 

discovered  inside  the  iron  masses  when  sawn  in  two.  Neither 
of  these  materials  is  so  enduring  as  iron,  and  the  fact  that 
they  are  not  now  found  on  the  plain  does  not  prove  their 
original  absence.  Moreover,  the  plain  is  strewn  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  crater  with  bits  of  limonite,  a mineral  frequently 
produced  by  the  action  of  air  and  water  on  iron  sulphides, 
and  this  material  is  much  more  abundant  than  the  iron.  If 
it  be  true  that  the  iron  masses  were  thus  embedded,  like 
plums  in  an  astral  pudding,  the  hypothetic  buried  star  might 
have  great  size  and  yet  only  small  power  to  attract  the  mag- 
netic needle.  Mr.  Hoyi^ell  also  proposes  a qualification  of 
the  test  by  volumes,  suggesting  that  some  of  the  rocks  be- 
neath the  buried  star  might  have  been  condensed  by  the 
shock  so  as  to  occupy  loss  space. 

These  considerations  are  eminently  pertinent  to  the 
study  of  the  crater  and  will  find  appropriate  place  in  any 
comprehensive  discussion  of  its  origin ; but  the  fact  which  is 
peculiarly  worthy  of  note  at  the  present  time  is  their  ability 
to  unsettle  a conclusion  that  was  beginning  to  feel  itself 
secure.  This  illustrates  the  tentative  nature  not  only  of 
the  hypotheses  of  science,  but  of  what  science  calls  its 
results. 

^^The  method  of  hypotheses,  and  that  method  is  the 
method  of  science,  founds  its  explanations  of  nature  wholly 
on  observed  facts,  and  its  results  are  ever  subject  to  the 
limitations  imposed  by  imperfect  observation.  However 
grand,  however  widely  accepted,  however  useful  its  conclu- 
sions, none  is  so  sure  that  it  cannot  be  called  into  question 


METEORITE  MOUNTAIN 


295 


by  a newly  discovered  fact.  In  the  domain  of  the  world’s 
knowledge  there  is  no  infallibility.” 

Sir  William  Crookes  has  been  deeply  interested  in  the 
phenomenon  of  Meteorite  Mountain,  which  must  take  rank 
with  the  Petrified  Forests  and  even  with  the  Grand  Canon 
as  one  of  the  marvels  of  Arizona.  The  meteoric  shower 
which  seems  to  have  accompanied  the  falling  of  the 
huge  meteorite  — if  the  theory  of  its  existence  is  true  — 
has  recorded  its  traces  over  a radius  of  more  than  five 
miles  from  the  crater-like  cavity.  The  experiment  of 
Dr.  Foote  is  thus  described  : 

^^An  ardent  mineralogist,  the  late  Dr.  Foote,  in  cutting 
a section  of  this  meteorite,  found  the  tools  were  injured  by 
something  vastly  harder  than  metallic  iron,  and  an  emery 
wheel  used  in  grinding  the  iron  had  been  ruined.  He  exam- 
ined the  specimen  chemically,  and  soon  after  announced  to 
the  scientific  world  that  the  Canon  Diablo  Meteorite  con- 
tained black  and  transparent  diamonds.  This  startling  dis- 
covery was  afterwards  verified  by  Professors  Friedel  and 
Moissan,  who  found  that  the  Canon  Diablo  Meteorite  con- 
tained the  three  varieties  of  carbon,  — diamond  (transparent 
and  black),  graphite,  and  amorphous  carbon.  Since  this  reve- 
lation the  search  for  diamonds  in  meteorites  has  occupied  the 
attention  of  chemists  all  over  the  world. 

Here,  then,  we  have  absolute  proof  of  the  truth  of  the 
meteoric  theory.  Under  atmospheric  influences  the  iron 
would  rapidly  oxidize  and  rust  away,  coloring  the  adjacent 


296  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 

*^oil  with  red  oxide  of  iron.  The  meteoric  diamonds  would 
be  unaffected  and  left  on  the  surface  to  be  found  by  explorers 
when  oxidation  had  removed  the  last  proof  of  their  celestial 
origin.  That  there  are  still  lumps  of  iron  left  in  Arizona  is 
merely  due  to  the  extreme  dryness  of  the  climate  and  the 
comparatively  short  time  that  the  iron  has  been  on  our  planet. 
We  are  here  witnesses  to  the  course  of  an  event  which  may 
have  happened  in  geologic  times  anywhere  on  the  earth’s 
surface.” 

In  this  desert  plateau  of  dull  red  sandstone  worn  by 
the  erosion  and  the  storms  of  untold  ages,  does  there 
indeed  lie  a submerged  star.?  And  if  there  does,  buried 
so  deep  in  the  earth  as  to  elude  as  yet  all  the  research 
of  science,  what  force  projected  it,  “shot  madly  from  its 
sphere,’’  into  the  desert  lands  of  Arizona  ? To  visit  these 
extraordinary  things  — the  Petrified  Forests,  the  Meteorite 
Mountain,  the  Grand  Canon  — is  to  feel,  in  the  words 
of  the  poet, — 

‘ ‘ These  are  but  seeds  of  days. 

Not  yet  a steadfast  morn, 

An  intermittent  blaze, 

An  embryo  god  unborn. 

I snuff  the  breath  of  my  morning  afar, 

I see  the  pale  lustres  condense  to  a star  : 

The  fading  colors  fix. 

The  vanishing  are  seep, 

And  the  world  that  shall  be 
Twins  the  world  that  has  been.  ” 


METEORITE  MOUNTAIN 


297 


Not  the  least  among  the  phenomena  of  Arizona  is  that^ 
Emerson,  who  never  saw  the  Great  West,  should  have 
left  on  record  in  his  poems  the  lines  and  stanzas  that 
seem  as  if  wTitten  from  personal  familiarity  with  its 
unspeakable  marvels  of  scenic  and  scientific  interest. 


298  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


CHAPTER  X 

LOS  ANGELES,  THE  SPELL-BINDER 

“ This  is  the  land  the  sunset  washes^ 

These  are  the  hanks  of  the  Yellow  Sea; 

Where  it  rose,  or  whither  it  rushes, 

•;  These  are  the  western  mystery  ! 

“ Night  after  night  her  purple  traffic 
Strews  the  landing  with  opal  hales; 

Merchantmen  poise  upon  horizons. 

Dip,  and  vanish  with  fairy  sails.  ” 

Emily  Dickinson 

“ In  what  ethereal  dances  ! 

By  what  eternal  streams  / ” 

Los  Angeles,  “ the  City  of  the  Angels,”  is  invested  with 
the  same  poetic  suggestion  in  its  name  as  that  which  sur- 
rounds Santa  — “the  City  of  the  Holy  Faith.”  A 
terraced  street  is  known  as  “ Angel  Flight.”  Any  retro- 
spective contemplation  of  Los  Angeles  gives  one  the  sensa- 
tion of  having  been  whirled  through  the  starry  immensities 
of  space.  During  even  a brief  stay  one  afterward  discovers 
by  the  unerring  logic  of  mathematics  that  within  a few 
days  he  has  perhaps  travelled  some  four  hundred  miles  by 
the  electric  trolley  cars,  besides  his  motor-car  journeys 
when  shot  through  space  from  old  San  Gabriel  to  the 


LOS  ANGELES,  SPELL-BINDER  299 


Pacific  Coast,  or  from  Elysium  Park  to  Hollywood,  and 
far  and  away  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  city.  Were  one 
caught  up  in  an  aero-car,  journeying  far  above  the  clouds 
for  ten  days,  it  could  hardly  seem  more  unreal.  One  can 
only  think  of  Los  Angeles  as  the  City  of  Vast  Spaces. 
The  town  has  laid  out  all  the  surrounding  country,  one 
would  fancy,  in  beautiful  tracts  (there  are  over  four 
thousand),  each  tract  containing  several  acres,  — laid 
out  under  alluring  names,  with  streets,  sidewalks,  and 
lamp-posts. 

The  “boom”  is  something  tremendous.  Companies 
and  corporations  run  free  electric  cars  to  points  forty 
miles  out  of  town,  as  Redondo  Beach  and  other  locali- 
ties, for  people  to  inspect  the  lots  offered,  — lots  at 
prices  from  “four  dollars  down,  and  four  dollars  a 
month,”  with  the  entire  cost  from  ninety  dollars  up 
to  that  of  several  hundred.  If  all  the  world  is  not 
supplied  with  homes  it  is  not  the  fault  of  enterprising 
Los  Angeles.  The  incomparable  electric  trolley  system 
renders  the  entire  region  within  fifty  miles  around 
eligible  for  city  privileges.  People  think  nothing  of 
going  thirty,  forty,  even  seventy-five  miles  by  the 
“ express  electrics.”  Over  an  area  of  a thousand  miles 
in  length  and  perhaps  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  width 
there  is  scattered  a population  less  than  that  centred 
within  city  limits  in  Chicago.  The  world  is  wide  — in 
Southern  California.  There  is  nothing  of  the  dreamy, 


800  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


languorous  old  Spanish  atmosphere  in  Los  Angeles.  It  is 
the  most  electrically  up-to-date  city  imaginable.  The  city 
limits  comprise  over  twenty-eight  thousand  acres.  The 
streets  are  paved  and  oiled ; the  lighting  is  wonderful, 
most  of  it  being  done  from  tall  towers  rather  than  ordinary 
lamp-posts.  Not  even  New  York  has  any  street  or  avenue 
so  illuminated  by  night  as  is  Broadway  in  Los  Angeles, 
where,  as  in  the  boulevards  in  Paris,  one  can  easily  read 
by  the  street  lights.  Los  Angeles  has  twenty-one  great 
parks  and  innumerable  hills  and  valleys  in  the  residence  re- 
gions. This  diversity  affords  natural  facilities  for  landscape 
gardening  which  are  utilized  with  fine  effect.  Spacious 
boulevards,  artificial  lakes,  and  series  of  terraces  everywhere 
enchant  the  eye,  seen  amidst  the  bewildering  luxuriance  of 
creamy  magnolia  blossoms  and  the  graceful  pepper  tree. 

The  enterprise  of  Los  Angeles  is  equalled  by  the  refine- 
ment and  culture  of  the  people,  and  the  schools,  churches, 
libraries  — the  social  life  — all  reveal  the  best  spirit  of 
American  institutions. 

That  this  is  one  of  the  spellbinding  cities  goes  with- 
out saying.  Everything  is  in  gleam  and  glitter  and 
glow.  The  electric  car  and  the  telephone  system  are 
here  developed  to  a higher  degree  than  perhaps  in  any 
other  Western  city  except  Denver.  The  growth  of  Los 
Angeles  is  something  fairly  incredible.  A leading  park 
commissioner.  Dr.  Lamb,  has  described  the  beauty  of  the 
four  thousand  tracts  of  land  (each  tract  comprising  many 


LOS  ANGELES,  SPELL-BINDER  301 


acres),  all  laid  out,  ready  for  buyers  and  builders.  Of 
the  twenty-one  parks,  one  comprises  more  than  three 
thousand  acres,  and  another,  Elysium  Park,  over  eight 
hundred  acres  of  hills  and  valleys  already  decoratively 
laid  out  with  terraced  drives  and  beautiful  shrubs, 
flowers,  and  artificial  lakes.  The  trend  of  the  city  is 
rapidly  toward  the  ocean,  some  fifteen  to  twenty  miles 
away,  and  it  can  hardly  be  five  years  before  from 
Venice  and  Santa  Monica,  on  the  coast,  to  Pasadena, 
ten  miles  to  the  east  of  Los  Angeles,  there  will  be  one 
solid  city,  one  vast  metropolis  of  the  Southwest.  The 
public  library  is  ably  administered,  and  it  is  one  of  con- 
siderable breadth  of  resources,  with  the  advantage  of 
having  for  its  librarian  Mr.  Charles  F.  Lummis,  the 
well-known  writer  on  the  Southwest.  Madam  Severance, 
who  in  1878  founded  the  Woman’s  Club,  a large  and 
influential  association  of  which  for  many  years  she  was 
the  president,  and  Mrs.  Rebecca  Spring,  the  friend  of 
Margaret  Fuller,  are  two  Boston  women  who  have 
transferred  their  homes  to  Los  Angeles  and  whose  lives 
emphasize  Emerson’s  assertion  that  it  is  the  fine  souls 
who  serve  us  and  not  what  we  call  fine  society. 

The  rush  and  the  brilliancy  of  life  in  all  this  Los 
Angeles  region  transcend  description.  Broadway  has 
more  than  two  miles  of  fine  business  blocks,  the  archi- 
tecture being  restricted  to  some  eight  or  nine  stories. 
The  beautiful  parks,  with  their  artificial  lakes,  their 


302  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


date-palm  trees,  their  profusion  of  brilliant  flowers, 
attract  the  eye.  There  are  residence  sections  of  exceeding 
beauty,  — the  lawns  bordered  by  hedges  of  rosebushes 
in  full  bloom  and  perhaps  another  rose  hedge  separating 
the  sidewalk  from  the  street. 

From  the  high  plateaus  of  Northern  Arizona  to  the 
blossoming  plains  of  California  is  a contrast  indeed.  In 
Arizona  these  thousands  of  acres  need  only  irrigation  to 
become  richly  productive.  The  climate  is  delightful,  for 
the  elevation  — over  seven  thousand  feet  — insures  cool- 
ness and  exhilaration  almost  every  day  through  the 
summer.  But  at  present  there  seems  no  conceivable  way 
to  procure  water  with  which  to  irrigate.  In  California 
precisely  the  same  land  is  irrigated  and  has  also  the  ad- 
vantage of  a rainy  season,  and  the  vegetation  and  fruits 
abound  luxuriously.  Orange  groves,  with  the  golden 
fruit  shimmering  on  the  trees  ; lemon  groves,  olive  orchards, 
and  the  avenues  and  groves  of  the  eucalyptus  tree  make 
fair  the  landscape.  An  important  industry  here  is  that 
of  lima  beans.  Tracts  of  fifteen  hundred  acres  sown  with 
these  are  not  unusual,  and  the  crops  are  contracted  for  by 
Russia  and  Germany  almost  as  soon  as  sown.  On  one 
of  these  it  is  said  that  the  owner  had  made  a princely 
fortune  within  two  years.  The  creation  of  the  city  in 
imagination  is  in  great  favor.  Vast  tracts  of  coun- 
try from  one  to  ten  miles  outside  the  city  limits  are 
staked  out,  as  before  noted ; avenues  and  streets  defined 


LOS  ANGELES,  SPELL-BINDER  303 


and  named,  lamp-posts  erected,  an  attractive  name  given 
the  locality,  and  lots  are  olfered  for  sale  from  perhaps  four 
or  five  hundred  dollars  up,  on  the  terms  of  “fifty  dollars 
down  and  ten  dollars  a month.” 

The  trolley-car  service  in  and  around  Los  Angeles 
is  said  to  be  the  best  in  the  world.  To  Venice  and  Santa 
Monica,  on  the  beach,  — at  a distance  of  some  seventeen 
miles,  — there  are  electric  “fljers”  that  make  the  trip 
within  thirty  minutes.  Venice  is  a French  ^tretat.  The 
little  rows  of  streets  at  right  angles  with  the  coast  line, 
running  down  to  the  water,  are  named  “ Rose  Avenue,” 
“Ozone  Avenue,”  “Sunset  Street,”  and  other  alluring 
names.  This  Venice  is  a veritable  (refined  and  artistic) 
“ Midway,”  with  its  colonnades  of  shops  offering  every 
conceivable  phase  of  trinkets  and  bijouterie ; its  concert 
halls,  casino,  gay  little  restaurants,  and  every  conceivable 
variety  of  amusement.  It  is  the  most  unique  little  toy 
town  of  a creation  conceivable,  and  the  electrical  display 
and  decorations  at  night  are  fascinating  in  their  scenic 
effect. 

Santa  Monica,  some  two  miles  farther  up  the  coast,  is 
still,  stately,  and  poetic.  Here  the  blue  Pacific  rolls  in  in 
the  most  bewildering  sea  greens  and  deep  blues,  and  over 
it  bends  a sky  rivalling  that  of  Arizona  in  depth  and 
richness  of  color.  The  entire  Pacific  Coast  is  an  idyl  of 
landscape  loveliness. 

But  of  life.  What  are  the  people  of  this  lovely  young 


304  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


city  of  two  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  doing  and 
thinking?  It  is  not  a question  to  be  answ^-ed  in  a 
paragraph.  Life  here  is  intense,  interesting,  full  of  color 
and  movement,  and  its  many-faceted  aspects  invite  con- 
sideration. As  one  sits,  for  instance,  on  a Pasadena 
piazza,  with  the  golden  glory  of  the  sunset  seen  over  the 
Sierra  Madre,  and  the  rose  hedges,  the  orange  groves,  the 
great  bushes  of  heliotrope  that  are  almost  like  young  trees 
pouring  out  their  mingled  fragrance  on  the  evening  air, 
one  falls  under  its  spell.  As  the  twilight  deepens  into 
darkness  the  great  searchlight  from  Mount  Low’e,  directly 
in  the  foreground,  a picturesque  panorama,  may  swing  out 
with  its  weird,  sweeping,  dazzling  illumination  over  the 
scene.  When  this  searchlight  is  out,  people  at  the  far- 
away beaches  can  see  to  read  by  it  at  distances  of  from 
twenty-five  to  fifty  miles.  Quite  near  Mount  Lowe  — one 
of  the  adjacent  peaks  — is  Mount  Wilson,  on  which  the 
new^  Carnegie  Observatory  is  to  be  located.  This  will  be 
fitted  with  the  largest  telescope  in  the  world  and  will  have 
the  advantage  of  every  latest  scientific  appliance. 

Pasadena,  like  all  the  California  towns  and  cities, 
covers  very  large  tracts  of  country.  There  is  a thriving 
business  centre,  not  very  far  from  which  are  the  great 
Raymond  Hotel  and  other  winter  resoids  for  the  throngs 
of  tourists  who  are  almost  as  important  to  the  revenues  of 
California  as  they  are  to  Italy.  There  are  both  North 
and  South  Pasadena,  — each  almost  a separate  city  in 


LOS  ANGELES,  SPELL-BINDER  305 


itself,  — and  the  most  beautiful  street  is  Orange  Grove 
Avenue,  with  large  estates  on  either  side  and  spacious 
lawns.  On  Fair  Oaks  Avenue,  in  a pretty  cottage,  lives 
Prof.  George  Wharton  James,  the  famous  explorer,  scien- 
tist, and  notable  writer  on  the  Grand  Canon  in  Arizona,  — 
and  the  greatest  interpreter,  indeed,  of  the  entire  South- 
west. The  books  of  Professor  James,  “ In  and  Out  of 
the  Old  Missions  of  California,”  “The  Indians  of  the 
Painted  Desert,”  and  “ Indian  Basketry  ” (besides  his  book 
on  the  “Grand  Canyon,”  which  is  the  accepted  authority), 
interpret  the  many  phases  of  life  in  the  Southwest  in  a 
vivid  and  accurate  manner,  rendering  them  invaluable 
to  contemporary  literature.  Professor  James  makes  his 
original  explorations,  taking  with  him  an  assistant  and 
his  own  camera,  and  going  through  varied  hardships, 
almost  ecreater  than  could  be  realized.  In  the  vast 

desert  spaces,  remote  from  any  human  habitation,  he 
has  had  to  swim  large,  muddy,  inland  lakes,  where 
vermin  were  swarming  ; to  go  without  food  and  water, 
‘and  to  endure  the  intense  fatigue  of  long  tramps.  In 
perusing  his  books  the  reader  little  dreams  at  what 
fearful  cost  of  energy  all  this  original  material  was 
obtained.  In  his  home  Professor  James  has  a most 
interesting  collection  of  the  ohjets  cVart  of  the  Southwest. 
One  must  travel  over  this  part  of  the  country  in  order 
to  appreciate  them.  They  are  as  distinctive  of  New 
Mexico,  Arizona,  and  Southern  California  as  the  old 


20 


306  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


masters  and  other  phases  of  Italian  art  are  of  Italy. 
There  are  brilliant  Navajo  blankets  and  rugs  — soft, 
rich,  and  vivid  in  color,  with  curiously  decorated  de- 
signs ; the  most  interesting  array  of  Indian  pottery  — 
the  many  specimens  from  the  old  tombs  being  far  finer 
than  any  pottery  done  by  the  modern  Indians  ; and  at 
the  entrance  to  his  lawn  Professor  James  has  a huge 
meteorite  from  Meteorite  ^Mountain  in  Arizona,  which 
weighs  over  a ton.  He  has  a large  section  of  a tree  of 
the  Petrified  Forest,  and  the  finer  specimens  that  show  the 
bark  and  the  fibre,  and  also  the  crystallization.  His 
library  is  large  and  fine,  and  comprises  many  autograph 
gift  copies  from  other  authors. 

One  feature  of  the  life  of  Professor  James  is  espe- 
cially helpful.  In  his  spacious  library  upstairs,  on  every 
Thursday  evening,  he  gives  an  informal  talk  on  his  travels 
and  explorations  to  his  friends  and  neighbors.  His 
personal  experiences  in  studving  the  phenomenon  of  the 
Salton  Sea  and  the  vagaries  of  the  Colorado  River,  which 
is  a law  unto  itself,  are  most  interesting. 

The  call  of  the  wild  is  not  more  irresistible  than  the 
call  of  the  desert  to  Professor  James.  He  has  lived  on 
it  and  with  it,  and  learned  to  read  its  hieroglyphics. 
The  desert  spirits  have  companioned  him.  He  has  ex- 
plored vast  spaces  of  the  Grand  Canon ; he  has  encamped, 
day  after  day,  even  week  after  week,  on  the  Painted  Desert ; 
he  has  wandered  in  the  gi’im  strange  Tonto  Basin,  and 


LOS  ANGELES,  SPELL-BINDER  307 


sailed  (of  late)  the  Salton  Sea,  — this  sheet  of  four  hun- 
dred square  miles  of  water,  this  impromptu  lake  where 
but  a little  while  before  was  a deserted  hollow  of  a long 
extinct  volcanic  sea.  Nature  leads  man  a pretty  dance 
out  in  this  Land  of  Enchantment.  No  one  would  ven- 
ture to  prophesy  at  night  just  what  stage  transformation 
might  take  place  before  morning.  This  very  uncertainty 
of  any  particular  tenure  of  mountain,  sea,  or  desert  per- 
haps tends,  unconsciously,  to  so  react  upon  the  popula- 
tion that  their  more  real  life  is  thrown  forward  into  the 
future.  For  instance,  Los  Angeles  lays  no  particular  stress 
upon  her  present  population,  but  announces  that  by  1910 
the  figures  will  undoubtedly  reach  the  half-million  mark. 
Nor,  indeed,  can  the  observer  doubt  this  in  any  contem- 
plation of  the  present  incredible  rapidity  of  progress  in 
every  direction.  The  city  seems  half  made  up  of  million- 
naires,  and  the  latest  municipal  bank  clearings  amounted 
to  almost  four  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  Los  Angeles 
is  really  an  exotic,  for  the  latest  census  reveals  the  aston- 
ishing fact  that  ninety  per  cent  of  its  inhabitants  are  from 
the  East,  leaving  only  ten  per  cent  as  native  Californians. 
Never  was  the  advertising  of  a city  carried  out  to  the 
degree  of  being  fairly  a fine  art  so  wonderfully  as  in  Los 
Angeles.  In  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  there  is  a per- 
petual exhibition  of  fruits  and  flowers  in  season,  and  of 
the  products  and  manufactures  of  the  country. 

Los  Angeles,  like  most  of  the  other  more  important 


308  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Western  cities,  is  deeply  concerned  with  irrigation  schemes. 
This  region  of  California  supplements  its  rainfall  with  irri- 
gation, and  between  the  two  the  whole  country  is  in  bloom 
and  blossom.  Los  Angeles  is  now  arranging  a gigantic 
scheme  to  bring  water  fi’om  the  Owen’s  River,  two  hundred 
miles  away,  by  means  of  tunnels  through  mountains  and  a 
huge  canal.  This  fall  of  water  will  not  only  entirely 
supply  the  city  with  water  power  of  immense  force  and 
volume,  but  it  is  estimated  that  it  will  also  irrigate  a 
hundred  thousand  acres.  The  scheme  will  employ  five 
thousand  men  for  some  four  years,  and  it  is  estimated  that 
the  cost  will  be  twenty-five  millions.  No  undertaking 
daunts  the  Western  city.  If  an  enterprise  is  desirable,  it 
is  to  be  achieved.  That  is  the  law  and  the  prophets  in 
the  Land  of  Enchantment. 

Los  Angeles,  like  Colorado  Springs,  is  the  paradise  of 
excursions.  The  trip  up  Mount  Lowe  to  the  observatory 
offers  a magnificent  panorama  of  landscape,  including  Pasa- 
dena Valley  and  Catalina  and  Santa  Barbara  islands.  Old 
San  Gabriel  Mission  and  the  San  Gabriel  Valley  are  infi- 
nitely interesting,  and  the  famous  bells  of  San  Gabriel  still 
ring  in  their  quaint,  rude  stone  framework  even  though  they 
are  jangled  and  out  of  tune  wfith  the  lapse  of  years.  The 
Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  rise  from  the  San  Gabriel  Valley. 

One  of  the  excursions  has  a feature  that  is  new  to  every 
visitor,  — that  of  glass-bottom  power  boats  which  give  a 
view  of  the  marvels  of  the  ocean.  These  boats  run  from 


LOS  ANGELES,  SPELL-BINDER  309 

Avalon  on  the  coast  — an  hour’s  express  trolley  ride  from 
Los  Angeles  — to  the  submarine  gardens  adjoining  Cata- 
lina Island,  and  they  have  a capacity  to  seat  over  a hun- 
dred passengers  around  the  glass.  In  sailing  over  these 
submarine  gardens  the  boats  move  very  slowly,  that  the 
passengers  may  enjoy  the  view  of  the  strange  seaweed,  the 
marine  flowers,  the  varied  aquatic  vegetation.  Catalina 
Island  is  a favorite  sea  resort,  lying  in  such  convenient 
proximity  to  the  city. 

Los  Angeles  seems  to  be  the  paradise  of  every  one 
who  has  a new  idea  — or  ideal  — for  the  betterment 
of  humanity.  There  is  an  atmosphere  of  idealism. 
Among  the  recent  institutions  is  the  Pacific  School  of 
Osteopathy,  with  a faculty  of  thirty  physicians,  men 
and  women,  who  base  their  therapeutics  on  the  scientific 
fact  that  the  body  is  subject  to  chemical,  electrical, 
thermal,  mental,  and  mechanical  treatment.  In  the  dine 
of  ethics  Rev.  B.  Fay  Mills  has  established  a compre- 
hensive movement  of  “ Fellowship,”  including  religious 
services  and  social  intercourse,  with  a large  and  enthu- 
siastic membership  drawn  by  this  eloquent  orator  and 
preacher  who  for  many  years  before  in  his  pastorate  in 
Boston  preached  to  large  congregations  who  gave  him 
profound  appreciation. 

A most  important  centre  that  radiates  sweetness  and 
light  in  infinite  measure  is  that  of  Christ  Church  (Epis- 
copal), whose  rector.  Rev.  Baker  P.  Lee,  is  not  only 


310  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


eminent  as  a preacher,  but  as  a leader  and  inspirer  of 
a network  of  organizations  connected  with  the  church 
for  the  betterment  of  human  life.  Christ  Church  parish 
is  a large  one,  numbering  over  two  thousand  in  direct 
connection  with  the  church,  with  a list  of  communicants 
of  over  twelve  hundred.  Within  the  past  three  years 
the  parish  has  built  a magnificent  new  church  and  a 
rectory,  and  the  holy  earnestness  of  the  young  and  gifted 
rector  makes  the  work  one  of  vital  spirituality. 

No  city  can  offer  more  beautiful  homes  than  those 
of  Los  Angeles ; more  attractive  parks,  more  enchanting 
scenery,  or  more  delightful  excursions  over  a network  of 
electric  lines  which  aggregate  above  five  hundred  miles 
of  single  track  and  reach  one  hundred  towns  and  villages 
from  Monrovia  of  the  foothills  to  Redondo  by  the  sea. 
The  world  has  but  one  Southern  California,  with  its  cool, 
soft,  gray  sea-fogs  in  the  early  mornings,  followed  by 
its  cloudless  days  of  blue  sky  over  golden  sunshine ; where 
the  sea-breeze  gladly  brings  its  health-giving  ozone  in 
exchange  for  the  odors  of  orange  blossoms  and  roses; 
where  the  mountains  stand  glorying  in  the  ruggedness 
of  their  rocky  cliffs  until,  touched  by  sunset’s  wand,  they 
glow  with  pink  lights  and  purple  shadows ; and  over  all 
comes  a golden  radiance  that  changes  the  forbidding 
outlines  of  their  jagged  peaks  into  radiant  beauty,  — 
fitting  features  of  the  vast  panorama  of  nature  to  hold 
their  eternal  place  in  the  Land  of  Enchantment. 


GRAND  CANON 


311 


CHAPTER  XI 

GRAND  CANON;  THE  CARNIVAL  OF  THE  GODS 

“ What  time  the  gods  kept  carnival  ! ” 

Emerson 

“ The  earth  grew  hold  with  longing 
And  called  the  high  gods  down  ; 

Yea^  though  ye  dwell  in  heaven  and  helU 
I challenge  their  renown. 

Abodes  as  fair  I build  ye 
As  heaven's  rich  courts  of  pearly 

And  chasms  dire  where  flood  like  fire 
Ravage  and  roar  and  ichirl. 

“ Come.,  for  my  soul  is  weary 

Of  time  and  death  and  change  ; 

Eternity  doth  summon  me  — 

With  mightier  worlds  I range. 

Come,  for  my  vision's  glory 
Awaits  your  songs  and  wings  ; 

Here  on  my  breast  I bid  ye  rest 
From  starry  wanderings." 

Harriet  Monroe 

One  takes  the  wings  of  the  morning  and  arrives  at  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  to  find — the  Grand  Canon, 
the  scenic  marvel  of  the  entire  world. 

Only  to  the  poet’s  vision  is  the  Grand  Canon  revealed  ; 
only  to  the  poet’s  touch  do  its  mighty  harmonies  respond. 


312  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


For  this  sublime  spectacle  is  as  vital  as  a drama  enacted 
on  the  stage,  only  its  acts  require  the  centuries  and  the 
ages  in  which  to  represent  themselves.  Whatever  one  sees 
of  the  Grand  Canon,  — it  matters  not  from  what  com- 
manding view  of  vision  or  vista,  one  sees  only  an  infinitesi- 
mal point.  It  is  the  Carnival  of  the  Gods.  “ Prophets 
and  poets  had  wandered  here,”  writes  Harriet  Monroe, 
“ before  they  were  born  to  tell  their  mighty  tales,  — Isaiah 
and  ^Eschylus  and  Dante,  the  giants  who  dared  the 
utmost.  Here  at  last  the  souls  of  great  architects  must 
find  their  dreams  fulfilled ; must  recognize  the  primal 
inspiration  which,  after  long  ages,  had  achieved  Assyrian 
palaces,  the  temples  and  pyramids  of  Egypt,  the  fortresses 
and  towered  cathedrals  of  mediaeval  Europe.  For  the 
inscrutable  Prince  of  builders  had  reared  these  imperish- 
able monuments,  evenly  terraced  upward  from  the  remote 
abyss  ; had  so  cunningly  planned  them  that  mortal  foot 
could  never  climb  and  enter  to  disturb  the  everlasting 
hush.  Of  all  richest  elements  they  were  fashioned,  — 
jasper  and  chalcedony,  topaz,  beryl,  and  amethyst,  fire- 
hearted  opal,  and  pearl ; for  they  caugliit  and  held  the 
most  delicate  colors  of  a dream  and  flashed  full  recognition 
to  the  sun.  Never  on  earth  could  such  glory  be  unveiled, 
— not  on  level  spaces  of  sea,  not  on  the  cold  bare  peaks 
of  mountains.  This  was  not  earth  ; for  was  not  heaven 
itself  across  there,  rising  above  yonder  alabaster  marge  in 
opalescent  ranks  for  the  principalities  and  powers  . 


GRAND  CANON 


31& 


In  a moment  we  stood  at  the  end  of  the  world,  at  the 
brink  of  the  kingdoms  of  peace  and  pain.  The  gorgeous 
purples  of  sunset  fell  into  darkness  and  rose  into  light  over 
mansions  colossal  beyond  the  needs  of  our  puny  unwinged 
race.  Terrific  abysses  yawned  and  darkened ; magical 
heights  glowed  with  iridescent  fire.*’ 

If  one  pauses  for  a moment  with  any  sense  of  obligation 
to  himself  to  gain  some  rationale  of  this  canon ; if  for  a 
moment  he  turn  from  rhapsody  and  ecstasy  and  the  dream 
of  poet  and  painter  to  grope  after  statistical  estimates, 
what  does  he  find  ? One  comparison  is  that,  — 

^^If  the  Eiffel  Tower,  which  with  a height  of  almost  a 
thousand  feet  is  the  tallest  structure  in  the  world,  were  placed 
at  the  bottom  of  the  canon  in  its  deepest  part,  five  more 
towers  just  like  the  first  would  have  to  be  piled  on  top  of  one 
another  to  reach  the  rim  of  the  plateau.” 

And  again  : 

Could  the  canon  be  filled  in  for  a building  site,  it  would 
furnish  room  enough  for  fifty  New  York  cities.  Indeed,  it 
would  have  an  area  of  sixteen  thousand  square  miles,  equal 
to  the  whole  of  Switzerland,  or  the  states  of  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  Delaware,  and  Rhode  Island  combined.” 

Statistical  comparisons  are,  at  best,  a necessary  evil 
which,  once  confronted,  need  not  companion  oqe  further. 
It  is  beauty,  it  is  sublimity,  not  mathematical  assurances, 
that  really  lays  hold  on  life.  The  inexplicable  impressions 


314  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


made  by  this  spectacle  are  mirrored  in  the  following 
words : — 

As  I grew  familiar  with  the  vision  I eould  not  quite  ex- 
plain its  stupendous  quality.  From  mountain  tops  one  looks 
across  greater  distances  and  sees  range  after  range  lifting 
snowy  peaks  into  the  blue.  The  ocean  reaches  out  into 
boundless  space^  and  the  ebb  and  flow  of  its  waters  have  the 
beauty  of  rhythmic  motion  and  exquisitely  varied  color. 
And  in  the  rush  of  mighty  cataracts  are  power  and  splendor 
and  majestic  peace.  Yet  for  grandeur  appalling  and  un- 
earthly ; for  ineffable,  impossible  beauty,  the  canon  tran- 
scends all  these.  It  is  as  though  to  the  glory  of  nature 
were  added  the  glory  of  art ; as  though,  to  achieve  her  ut- 
most, the  proud  young  world  had  commanded  architecture 
to  build  for  her  and  color  to  grace  the  building.  The  irreg- 
ular masses  of  mountains,  cast  up  out  of  the  molten  earth  in 
some  primeval  war  of  elements,  bear  no  relation  to  these 
prodigious  symmetrical  edifices  mounted  on  abysmal  terraces 
and  grouped  into  spacious  harmonies  which  give  form  to 
one’s  dreams  of  heaven.  The  sweetness  of  green  does  not 
last  forever,  but  these  mightily  varied  purples  are  eternal. 
All  that  grows  and  moves  must  perish,  while  these  silent 
immensities  endure.” 

The  majestic  panorama  dominates  every  detail  of  daily 
life.  As  w'hen  in  Bayreuth  for  the  Wagner  music-dramas 
alone,  every  other  consideration  is  subordinated  to  these, 
so  in  life  in  El  Tovar,  on  Bright  Angel  Trail,  one’s  hours 


GRAND  CANON  315 

for  sleep  and  for  any  daily  occupations  are  held  strictly 
amenable  to  “ effects  ” in  the  mysterious  splendor  of  the 
Titanic  underworld.  To  see  the  canon  under  the  full 
moon ; to  see  it  when  all  the  pinnacles  of  rock  are  leaping 
in  rose-red  flame  under  a sunrise ; to  see  it  in  a dream  of 
twilight  as  the  purple  canopy  falls,  — all  these  hours,  — 
all  hours  are  made  for  the  magical  transformations.  With 
every  breath  of  change  of  the  atmosphere  this  celestial 
beauty  changes.  One  is  hardly  conscious  as  to  the  special 
ways  and  means  by  which  he  finds  himself  in  an  enchanted 
world,  — 

“ From  the  shore  of  souls  arrived  ? ” 

It  is  very  possible.  Nor  does  he  know  how  — or  when 
— he  shall  depart.  The  past  is  effaced,  and  the  future  re- 
cedes into  some  unformulated  atmosphere.  Life,  a thou- 
sand lifetimes,  concentrate  themselves  in  the  present.  A 
supreme  experience  has  always  this  peculiarity,  — that  it 
bars  out  all  the  past  and  all  the  future.  When  one  is  on 
the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  he  is  not  scrutinizing  the 
pathway  by  which  he  came  nor  that  by  which  he  may 
descend. 

Even  if  one  has  seen  the  Grand  Canon  before,  he  is  sur- 
prised to  find  how  absolutely  newly  created  it  is  to  him 
when  its  haunting  magic  draws  him  back.  No  enshrined 
memory  can  compare  with  the  reality.  In  seeing  the 
Petrified  Forest  one  checks  it  off  as  a thing  accomplished 


316  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


for  life.  It  is  definite.  The  great  logs  of  agate  and  jasper 
and  chalcedony  lie  on  the  ground  as  they  have  lain  for 
perhaps  thousands  of  ages.  It  is  a wonder  — the  seventh 
wonder  of  the  world,  if  one  pleases  — and  the  paradise  of 
geologists,  but  it  is  unchanging.  Not  so  the  Grand 
Canon.  The  canon  is  a perpetual  transformation  scene. 
Its  color  effects  rival  those  of  an  electric  fountain 
under  the  full  play  of  the  spectroscope.  It  is  rose, 
purple,  amber,  emerald,  pearl  gray,  pale  blue,  sqarlet  — 
according  to  atmospheric  states.  One  leaves  it  in  the 
late  afternoon  with  the  rocky  towers  and  pinnacles  and 
battlements  all  in  glowing  scarlet,  seen  through  a trans- 
parent air.  He  steps  out  upon  the  broad  hotel 
piazzas  an  hour  later  and,  behold,  the  uncalculated  spaces 
of  the  canon  are  filled  with  a half- transparent  blue  mist 
which  envelops  all  the  curious  sandstone  formations  that 
gleam  in  pale  rose  and  opal  tints  through  this  thin  blue 
mist,  and  assume  wraith-like  shapes.  Major  Powell  well 
said,  that  really  to  see  the  Grand  Canon,  a year  is  necessary. 
Yet  just  as  truly  may  it  be  said  that  even  for  two  days  it 
is  worth  crossing  the  continent  to  enjoy  this  most  marvel- 
lous of  spectacles.  Only  the  scientist  and  the  specialist 
dream  of  seeing  it  in  anything  like  completeness.  For 
the  tourist  and  traveller  a range  of  twenty  miles  is  quite 
sufficient  to  disclose  its  representative  beauty.  A day’s 
drive  by  the  stage  to  Grandview  Point,  Hance’s  Trail,  and 
Moran’s  Point  is  easily  made  between  nine  and  five  o’clock. 


GRAND  CANON,  FROM  GRAND  VIEW  POINT 


I i w 


GRAND  CANON 


317 


A drive  of  two  or  three  miles  in  the  opposite  direction 
will  include  Howe’s  and  O’NeiPs  points.  One  day  will 
allow  the  adventurous  tourist  to  “ go  down  the  trail.”  Still, 
after  doing  all  these  things,  the  best  of  all,  it  may  be,  is 
to  live  into  the  atmosohere.  To  draw  one’s  chair  out  on 
the  broad  balcony  of  the  new  and  beautiful  hotel,  El 
Tovar,  and  sit  and  dream  and  gaze  and  wonder,  and 
wonder  and  gaze  and  dream,  is,  perhaps,  the  greatest  joy 
one  can  have  in  all  the  time  passed  here,  especially  if 
the  solitude  can  be  the  solitude  a deux.  No  joy,  no  in- 
terest, is  of  much  consequence  until  or  unless  it  is  sym- 
pathetically shared.  As  a decor  de  schie  the  Grand  Canon 
is  unrivalled.  The  magic  and  mystery  of  all  the  universe 
broods  over  its  Titanic  spaces. 

The  air  is  the  most  bracing,  exhilarating,  and  exquisite 
imaginable.  The  great  rolling  mesas  covered  with  pine 
forests  are  more  than  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  sea, 
and  their  exhilarating  and  tonic  properties  are  beyond 
description.  The  entire  atmosphere  is  fragrant  with 
the  pines.  Throat  and  chest  are  bathed  in  balm  and 
healing.  There  can  hardly  be  any  difficulty  with  the 
bronchial  and  breathing  mechanism  that  cannot  find  its 
cure  here.  And  the  charm,  the  utter  enchantment  of 
living  on  this  rainbow-tinted  canon,  a mile  and  a half 
deep,  thirteen  miles  across  at  this  “ Bright  Angel  ” point 
(and  this  is  its  narrowest  place),  the  joy  of  life  is  to  steep 
one’s  self  in  the  atmosphere  of  enchanting  loveliness ; 


318  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


and  this  perpetual  play  of  color  is  an  experience  that 
finds  no  interpretation  in  language. 

On  first  alighting  from  the  branch  of  the  Sante  Fe  that 
runs  from  Williams,  Arizona,  to  Bright  Angel,  at  the  head 
of  Bright  Angel  Trail  on  the  Grand  Canon,  — a three 
hour’s  ride  of  transcendent  beauty  among  the  purple  peaks 
of  the  San  Francisco  mountains,  — on  first  stepping  from 
the  train  up  the  terrace  to  the  beautiful  “ El  Tovar  ” 
built  on  the  very  rim  of  the  canon,  one  objects  strenu- 
ously to  entering  the  hotel.  His  eye  has  caught  the 
Vision,  — a “celestial  Inferno  bathed  in  soft  fires.?”  or 
the  “ Promised  Land  .?  ” or  the  mystical  vision  that  John 
saw  on  the  Island  of  Patmos  ? The  hotel  would,  presum- 
ably, remain  ; but  this  spectacle,  — what  can  it  be  save  a 
mirage,  one  never  seen  before  on  earth  and  perhaps  not 
to  be  too  confidently  anticipated  in  Paradise.?  Would 
such  a picture  remain.?  Can  one  safely  leave  a sunset 
which  is  all  a miracle  of  splendor  while  he  goes  in  to 
dine.?  Can  he  safely  turn  away  from  the  heavens  when 
a young  moon  at  night  is  winging  her  way  down  the  sky 
and  expect  to  find  her  midway  in  the  heavens .?  And 
could  one  safely  leave  this  most  marvellous  scene  of  all 
while  he  should  bestow  himself  in  his  rooms.? 

“ Would  the  Vision  there  remain  ? 

Would  the  Vision  come  again  ?” 

Could  it  be,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  any  more  per- 
manent than  any  other  momentary  revelation  of  an  en- 


ZIGZAG,  BRIGHT  ANGEL  TRAIL,  GRAND  CANON,  ARIZONA 


1 


GRAND  CANON 


319 


chanted  hour  that  would  fade  into  the  darkness  as  night 
came  on,  like  the  splendor  of  a sunset,  the  color-scheme 
of  a rainbow,  or  the  glory  and  the  freshness  of  a dream  ? 

Instead,  the  Grand  Canon  prefigures  itself  to  one  as  an 
apparition,  and  while  he  may  gaze  upon  it  under  all 
changing  lights  of  dawn,  of  noonday,  of  sunset  — and  of 
moonlight  — he  cannot  come  to  any  realization  that  it  is 
there  all  the  time.  His  room  in  the  hotel  may  look  out 
into  it  and  over  it ; and,  waking  in  the  night,  he  rises  and 
leans  out  of  his  window  to  see  if  it  is  still  there.  One 
does  not  expect  a vision  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  a palpi- 
tating, changing,  flaming,  throbbing  sea  of  color  — in  its 
rose-reds,  its  greens,  its  amber,  gold,  and  purple  — to  re- 
main like  a field  or  a forest.  It  seems  a thing  of  condi- 
tions, visible  at  one  moment,  vanished,  perchance,  the 
next. 

Think  of  a chasm  a mile  and  a half  deep,  from  thirteen 
to  eighteen  miles  wide,  and  as  long  as  from  Boston  to 
New  York  — two  hundred  miles!  Think  of  it  again  as 
not  merely  a deep,  dark  chasm,  but  as  filled  with  the 
most  wonderful  architectural  effects  in  the  sandstone  for- 
mations which  simulate  Chinese  pagodas,  temples,  altars, 
cathedrals,  domes,  and  towers  so  perfectly  that  one  is 
incredulous  of  the  fact  that  their  shaping  is  nature’s 
work  alone.  Add  to  this  the  color  scheme,  now  an  in- 
tense royal  purple,  again  flashes  of  rose  and  green  and 
ivory  and  a rare  blue ; or  again  a “ nocturne  ” in  silvery 


320  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


gray,  with  hints  of  lingering  rose  and  amber  shimmering 
in  the  air.  Until  within  a few  years  the  Grand  Canon 
was  so  inaccessible  as  to  (juite  account  for  the  general 
ignorance  of  this  most  wonderful  scenic  phenomenon  in 
our  country,  and,  indeed,  with  no  exaggeration  be  it  said, 
the  most  wonderful  in  the  entire  world.  Twenty  Yosem- 
ites  might  be  thrown  into  it  and  make  no  impression  ; 
and  as  for  Niagara,  it  would  be  a mere  tiny  waterfall  in 
comparison. 

In  the  trail  leading  downward  into  the  canon  the  first 
level  is  just  five  times  the  height  of  St.  Peter’s  in  Rome, 
or  the  Pyramids  of  Cheops. 

From  the  brink  one  looks  down  a mile  and  a half  into 
towers  and  pinnacles ; one  looks  across  eighteen  miles 
in  the  widest  place ; and  one  looks  up  and  down  its 
tortuous  length,  as  its  complicated  system  of  canons  re- 
vealed themselves  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see  either  way. 
One  gazes,  not  into  a deep,  dark  cleft,  a Titanic  royal 
gorge,  but  on  and  into  a sea  of  color  and  a wealth  of 
architectural  wonders,  — cathedrals,  towers,  mosques,  pin- 
nacles, minarets,  temples,  and  balconies  exceeding  in  vari- 
ety of  design,  in  extraordinary  beauty  of  grouping  and 
splendor  of  color,  anything  of  which  one  could  dream, 
even  in  his  most  enchanted  moments.  The  red  sandstone, 
the  brilliant  white  of  the  limestone  luminous  under  the 
setting  sun,  the  green  of  pine  trees  or  of  copper  rocks,  the 
gray  and  ochre  tints  of  gravel  and  fallen  rocks  and  debris, 


A CLIFF  ON  BUIGEIT  ANGEL  TRAIL,  GRAND  CANON 


GRAND  CANON 


321 


the  soft,  deep  purple  mist  enveloping  all  as  an  atmosphere 
in  which  all  these  architectural  marvels  seemed  to  swim  — 
tlie  strange,  unearthly  splendor  of  it  all  — holds  one  under 
a fascination  that  can  neither  be  analyzed  nor  described. 
This,  then,  is  “ El  Grande  Canon  de  la  Colorado.”  One 
stands  speechless,  breathless,  as  if  transported  to  some 
other  planet.  Suddenly  all  life  — everything  that  floated 
in  memory  — seemed  confused,  unreal.  Wa4  the  past 
(whose  running  series  of  incident  and  event  and  circum- 
stance already  seemed  vague)  a dream,  and  was  this  tiie 
reality  ? Or  had  there  never  been  any  reality  in  life  be- 
fore ? Was  this  a dream,  wrought  under  some  untold 
spell  of  enchantment  ? Would  one  hear  the  water  nixies 
chanting  their  refrain  if  he  listened  ? Or  was  this  scene  of 
Titanic  grandeur  the  abode  of  Wagner’s  gods  and  heroes  ? 
One  watched  for  the  sacred  fires  to  flame  on  Brunhilde’s 
rock  and  for  Siegfried  to  appear.  One  saw  the  ship 
which  had  borne  Tristan  on  his  ill-starred  voyage,  and 
the  garden  where  the  lovers  confessed  their  intense  and 
instant  love,  and  the  fatal  potion  scene  rises  before  him  ; 
and  again  he  is  lost  in  rapt  ecstasy  as  the  air  seems  filled 
with  the  passionate  drama  of  Lilli  Lehmann  and  Alvarez. 
For  let  Ternina  and  other  younger  women  come  and  go 
in  the  Wagner  music-drama,  and  yet  where  will  that  abso- 
lute perfection  of  dramatic  action,  that  passionate  exalta- 
tion of  emotion,  ever  again  attend  and  invest  any  singer 
as  they  invest  and  are  identified  with  Lilli  Lehmann  ? 

21 


322  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


“ The  Fairest  enchants  me. 

The  Mighty  commands  me.” 

In  this  most  sublime  of  all  earthly  spectacles  there  are 
aerial  landscape  effects  as  delicate  and  evanescent  as  a 
cloud-wreath,  or  as  a fog  that  advances,  ^vi’aith-like,  to 
melt  away  into  dissolving  views.  “ The  region  is  full  of 
wonders  and  beauties  and  sublimities  that  Shelley’s  im- 
aginings do  not  match  in  the  ‘ Prometheous  Unbound,’  ” 
wrote  Charles  Dudley  AVarner. 

If  the  world  realized  the  maiwellous  effects  of  this  very 
Carnival  of  the  Gods,  the  infinite  spaces  of  the  Grand 
Canon  itself  could  not  contain  all  who  would  eagerly 
throng  to  behold  it.  The  statistical  record  of  the  increase 
of  visitors  is  rather  interesting.  In  1900  there  were  eight 
hundi’ed  and  thirteen  ; the  succeeding  year,  six  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eighty-three ; while  in  1903  the  number 
increased  to  nearly  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  thou- 
sand. Since  that  date  the  number  of  \dsitoi*s  has  multi- 
plied itself  after  the  fashion  of  compound  interest.  The 
establishment  of  all  the  conveniences  and  comforts,  not 
to  say  luxuries,  of  modern  travel  may  be  one  of  the 
most  potent  factors  in  this  increase  of  visitoi's.  Until 
within  five  years  the  Grand  Canon  could  only  be  reached 
by  a stage  ride  of  seventy  miles  through  the  Coconino 
Forest,  — whose  dim  gray  twilight  reminds  one  of  the 
forests  of  Fontainebleau,  — and  which  drive,  however  ro- 
mantically beautiful,  was  attended  with  too  gi’eat  teri’estial 


GRAND  CANON 


323 


discomfort  to  commend  it  to  general  public  service.  Until 
1906  the  hotel  accommodations,  also,  while  offering  a 
modest  comfort,  were  essentially  primitive  ; while  now  the 
superb  new  Harvey  hostelry,  “ El  Tovar,'’  built  at  a cost 
of  a quarter  of  a million  dollars  (and  the  Harvey  name  is 
a synonym  in  the  West  for  everything  admirable  in  dining 
cars,  refreshment  stands,  and  hotels),  insures  to  every 
traveller  any  degree  of  luxurious  comfort  he  requires. 
Even  the  man  who,  after  visiting  all  the  enchanted  points 
in  the  Land  of  Enchantment,  in  its  prehistoric  period  of 
twenty  years  ago  before  Pullman  cars  climbed  the  moun- 
tain peaks  and  the  Waldorf-Astoria  type  of  hotels  sprang 
up,  the  man  who,  after  a trip  through  these  wonders  of 
the  world,  returned  to  New  York  and  declared  that  he 
would  rather  see  an  electric  bell  and  a bath  than  all  the 
grandeur  between  Pike’s  Peak  and  the  Pacific,  would  now 
be  fully  reconciled  to  Western  sojourns.  He  would  find 
his  electric  bell  and  his  bath  to  be  as  much  a matter  of 
course  as  in  Fifth  Avenue,  besides  also  finding  that  there 
were  spectacles,  — as  that  of  the  Garden  of  the  Gods, 
Cheyenne  Canon,  the  Petrified  Forests,  the  Grand  Canon, 
and  the  Los  Angeles  electric  trolley  system  (which  quite 
deserves  to  rank  with  the  modern  “ Seven  Wonders  ” of  the 
world),  and  which  Fifth  Avenue  by  no  means  provided  for 
her  votaries.  In  fact,  “ El  Tovar  ” is  so  inclusive  of  com- 
fort as  to  be  fairly  a feature  of  the  canon,  commanding,  on 
one  side,  a magnificence  of  prospect  without  parallel  in  the 


824  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


world  in  the  mighty  chasm  on  whose  brink  it  stands,  on  the 
other  side  the  fragrant  Coconino  pine  forest,  — the  largest 
belt  of  pine  timber  in  the  United  States,  and  which  has 
been  made  a government  forest  reservation. 

There  is  now  a project  to  erect  a memorial  to  Major 
John  W.  Powell,  the  pioneer  explorer  of  the  Grand 
Canon,  to  be  placed  on  the  rim  at  the  head  of  Bright 
Angel  Trail  at  El  Tovar.  This  most  fitting  plan  to 
honor  the  name  of  the  great  scientist  and  explorer  whose 
research  contributed  the  first  authoritative  knowledge 
of  the  canon  is  the  thought  of  the  American  Scenic 
Association,  which  will  petition  Congress  to  grant  the 
requisite  appropriation.  No  monument  to  human  great- 
ness could  be  more  ideally  placed  than  this  to  perpetually 
repeat  to  every  visitor  and  sojourner  the  name  of  the 
explorer  who  successfully  achieved  the  most  startling  and 
heroic  journey  in  all  history,  — that  made  through  the 
complete  extent  of  the  Grand  Canon. 

It  was  in  1869  that  Major  Powell,  with  four  boats 
and  nine  men,  inaugurated  this  expedition,  starting  from 
Green  River  City  in  Utah.  He  was  dissuaded  and  im- 
portuned in  the  most  urgent  way  by  those  most  familiar 
with  the  region  not  to  attempt  the  feat.  The  Indians 
especially  insisted  that  no  boat  could  live  in  any  one 
of  the  score  of  rapids  to  be  passed.  There  was  also  a 
tradition  that  for  some  hundreds  of  miles  the  river  lost 
itself  in  the  earth,  and  Major  Powell  and  his  men  would 


GRAND  CAl^JON 


325 


thus  be  imprisoned  within  a Titantic  fortress  from  which 
escape  would  be  impossible.  But  men  of  destiny  do  not 
hesitate  when  they  are  led  to  great  achievements.  Major 
Powell  set  out  on  May  24,  1869,  with  his  nine  mgi  and 
four  boats,  and  landed  on  August  8,  with  four  men 
and  two  boats,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Virgin  River,  after 
having  sailed  the  boiling  torrent  of  the  Colorado  River, 
at  the  bottom  of  the  canon,  for  more  than  a thousand 
miles.  Mr.  C.  A.  Higgins  characterizes  this  feat  as  “ the 
most  wonderful  geological  and  spectacular  phenomenon 
known  to  mankind.'’ 

The  first  authentic  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  the 
Grand  Canon  dates  back  to  August  of  1540,  when  the 
Spanish  friar,  Alvar  Nunez,  after  years  of  romantic  wan- 
derings among  the  pueblos  of  the  Southwest,  returned 
to  Mexico  with  tales  of  this  mighty  chasm.  Coronado, 
who  had  discovered  the  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola  (of  which 
now  only  Zuhi  remains),  ordered  Garcia  Lopez  to  take  a 
band  of  men  and  Indian  guides  and  search  for  this  chasm, 
which  he  succeeded  in  discovering  ; with  the  more  difficulty, 
surely,  in  that  one  has  to  gain  its  very  rim  before  he  has 
hardly  an  intimation  of  its  proximity.  The  spectacle  of 
the  canon  always  presents  itself  as  a sudden  surprise.  It 
was  not,  however,  until  1884  that,  by  the  building  of  the 
great  transcontinental  line,  the  Santa  Fe,  the  Grand 
Canon  became  accessible.  Then  for  some  twenty  years  it 
was  reached,  as  has  already  been  noted,  by  stage  from 


326  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Flagstaff.  Now  one  can  travel  in  his  sleeper  without 
change  from  Chicago  to  El  Tovar,  and  thousands  of 
tourists  annually  visit  the  extraordinary  scene.  Not  the 
least  of  the  interesting  data  regarding  the  canon  is  this 
gulf  of  more  than  three  hundred  years  that  divides  its  dis- 
covery from  its  taking  rank  as  the  most  phenomenal  scenic 
resort  of  the  world.  The  mills  of  the  gods  grind  slowly. 
The  visitors  to  the  Grand  Canon  present  singularly  cosmo- 
politan groups,  there  being  hardly  a country  in  the  world 
that  is  not  represented  at  some  time  during  the  year. 

For  the  caiion  has  all  seasons  for  its  own.  It  is  almost 
as  much  of  an  object  of  winter  as  of  summer  pilgrimage. 
One  season  is  found,  on  the  whole,  to  be  almost  as  en- 
joyable here  as  another.  It  is  cool  in  summer,  and  it  is 
warm  and  sunny  in  winter.  Sometimes  there  is  a fairy 
snowfall,  but  hardly  more  lasting  than  a spring  frost, 
and  when  it  comes  it  only  adds  another  flitting  variety 
to  the  stupendous  scene. 

With  untold  tons  of  the  water  of  the  Colorado  River 
pouring  itself  in  torrents  through  the  bottom  of  the 
caiion,  all  the  water  used  for  the  table,  for  toilet,  and 
for  laundry  purposes  has  to  be  brought  from  a distance 
of  a hundred  and  twenty  miles,  and  twenty  thousand 
gallons  are  in  daily  use.  An  electric-light  plant  fuimishes 
brilliant  illumination. 

The  Hopi  House,  built  in  imitation  of  an  Indian 
pueblo,  with  a group  of  quaintly  garbed  Hopi  Indians 


GRAND  CANON 


327 


within  in  attendance,  is  a curiosity ; and  besides  the 
Hopis  there  are  Navajos  and  Supais  coming  to  sell  their 
handiwork,  — that  of  pottery,  silver  ornaments,  blankets, 
and  baskets.  Cataract  Canon,  forty  miles  from  El  Tovar, 
is  the  home  of  the  Supais,  and  it  is  a place  that  well 
repays  visiting  for  an  entirely  new  point  of  view  of  the 
vast  canon  that  it  affords.  There  are  peaceful  Indians 
to  be  seen  daily  riding  their  horses  through  the  pine 
woods,  journeying  from  El  Tovar  to  Grand  View,  to 
“ Hance’s  Trail,”  to  “ Moran’s  Point,”  and  other  localities, 
to  sell  or  barter  their  wares.  One  old  Indian  who  seems 
to  roam  about  alone  has  developed  an  ingenious  manner  of 
procuring  food  when  he  is  hungry.  He  enters  the  hotel 
office  and  seeks  the  proprietor  himself,  recognizing  with  un- 
erring instinct  that  this  gentleman’s  liberal  endowment  of 
sympathy  and  unfailing  generosity  never  permits  him  to 
“ turn  down  ” a request  for  aid.  The  wily  old  savage  seeks 
him  out  and  makes  conspicuous  overtures  of  his  affection. 

“You  is  heap  my  son ; pale  face  heap  my  son ! ” the 
dusky  visitor  declares,  and  when  this  assurance  is  empha- 
sized to  the  proprietor  he  realizes  that  it  means  he  is 
“ heap  my  son  ” because  his  visitor  is  hungry.  These  out- 
bursts of  devotion  occur  only  when  the  old  Indian  is  at 
his  wits’  end  to  know  where  to  procure  something  to  eat. 
Once  fed  he  is  off,  and  thinks  no  more  of  the  man  whom 
he  assured  that  he  was  “ heap  my  son  ” until  hunger  again 
assails  him  and  stimulates  his  parental  affection. 


328  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


So  the  little  trifles  and  pleasantries  of  the  comedie 
humaine  assert  their  place  in  the  general  life  even  on  the 
rim  of  the  sublime  spectacle  of  the  Carnival  of  the  Gods. 

For  more  than  two  hundred  miles  the  canon  offers  its 
innumerable  panoramas,  no  one  ever  duplicating  that  of 
another.  There  are  thousands  of  canons  in  it  — it  is  a 
complicated  system  of  colossal  canons.  Every  wall  is  an 
aggregation  of  hundreds  of  walls.  Every  pinnacle  is 
formed  of  hundreds  of  pinnacles.  When  the  sun  shines 
in  splendor  on  the  vermilion  walls,  the  glory  is  almost 
beyond  what  man  can  bear.  When  from  the  trail  below 
a star  seems  to  float  in  the  air  and  rest  on  the  verge  of 
the  cliflP,  what  words  can  convey  any  image  of  this  ineffable 
? 

The  cloud-effects  are  another  of  the  phases  of  faery.  A 
rain  creates  a panorama  of  clouds  creeping  out  of  one 
canon  and  flying  into  another,  all  “ as  if  they  had  souls 
and  wills  of  their  own,”  says  Major  Powell  ; and  he  adds, 
“ In  the  imagination  the  clouds  belong  to  the  sky,  and 
when  they  are  in  the  canon  the  skies  come  down  into  the 
gorges  and  cling  to  the  cliffs  and  lift  them  up  to  immeas- 
urable heights,  for  the  sky  must  still  be  far  away ; thus 
they  lend  infinity  to  the  walls.”  The  canon  mirrors  the 
color  and  the  state  of  the  sky  as  water  does.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  curious  facts  connected  with  it.  ““  Yet  form 
and  color  do  not  exhaust  all  the  divine  qualities  of  the 
Grand  Canon,”  continues  Major  Powell ; “ it  is  the  land 


GRAND  CANON 


329 


of  music.  The  river  thunders  in  perpetual  roar,  swelling 
in  floods  of  music  when  the  storm -gods  play  upon  the 
rocks,  and  fading  away  in  soft  and  low  murmurs  when  the 
infinite  blue  of  heaven  is  unveiled.  . . . The  adamant 
foundations  of  the  earth  have  been  wrought  into  a sub- 
lime harp  upon  which  the  clouds  of  heaven  play  with 
mighty  tempests  or  with  gentle  showers.” 

Major  Powell,  the  explorer  and  practically  the  mod- 
ern discoverer  of  the  canon,  remains  its  most  complete 
interpreter.  His  journal  narrating  that  remarkable 
voyage  through  the  Colorado  River  in  a region  “ more 
difficult  to  traverse  than  the  Alps  or  the  Himalayas,” 
is  fairly  an  epic  in  American  literature.  He  had  the 
vision  of  the  painter  and  the  heart  of  the  poet. 
He  felt  that  infinitely  complex  variety  of  the  canon, 
and  he  read  its  sublime  inscriptions  on  a scroll  not 
made  with  hands.  He  pictures  one  feature  especially 
that  has  hardly  been  touched  by  other  writers,  — that 
of  the  perpetually  changing  aspects.  “ One  moment 
as  we  looked  out  over  the  landscape,”  he  writes,  “ the 
atmosphere  seemed  to  be  trembling  and  moving  about, 
giving  the  impression  of  an  unstable  land : plains  and 
hills  and  clifts  and  distant  mountains  seemed  vaguely 
to  be  floating  about  in  a trembling,  wave-rocked  sea ; 
and  patches  of  landscape  would  seem  to  float  away  and 
be  lost,  and  then  reappear.  . . . The  craggy  buttes 
seem  dancing  about.  . . . The  sun  shone  in  splendor 


330  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


on  the  vermilion  walls.  Shaded  into  green  and  gray 
when  the  rocks  were  lichened  over,  the  river  filled  the 
channel  from  wall  to  wall,  and  the  canon  opened  like 
a beautiful  doorway  to  a region  of  glory.  But  at 
evening,  when  the  sun  was  going  down  and  the  shadows 
were  settling  in  the  canon,  the  scarlet  gleams  and  roseate 
hues,  blended  with  tints  of  green  and  gray,  slowly 
changed  to  sombre  brown  above  and  black  shadow's  crept 
over  them  from  below.  . . . Lying  down,  one  looked  up 
through  the  canon  and  saw  that  only  a little  of  the  blue 
heavens  appeared  overhead,  — a crescent  of  blue  sky  with 
but  two  or  three  constellations  peering  down  upon  us. 
Soon  I saw  a bright  star  that  appeared  to  rest  on  the 
verge  of  the  cliffs  overhead,  and,  as  it  moved  up  from  the 
rock,  I almost  wondered  that  it  did  not  fall,  and  indeed  it 
appeared  as  if  swayed  down  by  its  ow'ii  weight.  The  star 
appeared  to  be  in  the  canon,  so  high  were  the  walls,” 

So  the  wonderful  story  of  Major  PowelPs  runs  on  of 
these  atmospheric  phenomena  of  the  canon,  effects  that 

“ . . . give  to  seas  and  sunset  skies 

Their  unspent  beauty  of  surprise.” 

It  is  from  Bright  Angel  Trail  that  the  Grand  Canon  is 
the  most  accessible.  Parties  of  men  and  women,  mounted 
on  sure-footed  burros,  go  down  .this  trail  with  their 
guides  — apparently  under  the  special  protection  of  the 
bright  angels  of  the  celestial  host,  as  no  accident  has  ever, 
thus  far,  occurred.  Prof.  George  Wharton  James  notes,  in 


GRAND  CANON 


331 


his  invaluable  work  on  the  Grand  Canon, ^ that  this  trail 
was  originally  used  by  the  Havasupai  Indians  and  that 
the  rude  irrigating  canals  that  conveyed  water  from  an  ad- 
jacent spring  to  a so-called  Indian  Garden  in  the  near  vicin- 
ity are  still  to  be  seen.  The  view  from  the  head  of  Bright 
Angel  Trail  is  one  of  vast  extent  and  a peculiar  sublimity. 
Buddha  Temple  is  a colossal  pile  that  rises  in  isolated 
grandeur,  and  near  it  is  Buddha  Cloister.  An  impressive 
tower  of  rock  rising  in  the  canon  bears  the  honored  name 
of  Agassiz.  Isis  Temple  and  the  Temple  of  Brahma  are 
within  the  range  of  the  eye  from  this  point.  The  per- 
fectly transparent  air,  and  that  absence  of  aerial  vibration 
that  characterizes  the  atmosphere  of  Arizona,  conspire  to 
invest  all  distance  with  magic  illusion.  Looking  across 
the  thirteen  miles  of  the  canon’s  abyss  from  Bright  Angel 
Trail,  the  opposite  rim  hardly  seems  farther  away  than 
the  distance  of  three  or  four  city  blocks.  Isis  Temple  is 
said  to  be  as  great  in  mass  as  the  mountainous  part  of 
Mt.  Washington,  and  the  summit  of  Isis  looks  down  six 
thousand  feet  into  the  depths  of  a chasm,  the  ledges  on 
the  side  being  “ as  impracticable  as  the  face  of  Bunker 
Hill  Monument.” 

It  is  a noticeable  fact,  and  one  which  the  general 
reader  may  regard  with  quiet  amusement,  that  all  the 
writers  who  even  attempt  to  allude  to  the  Grand  Canon 

1 In  and  Around  the  Grand  Canyon,  by  George  Wharton  James. 
Little,  Brown,  and  Co.  1900. 


332  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


quote  copiously  from  each  other;  and  this  is  the  almost 
inevitable  instinct  of  each,  in  order  to  reinforce  himself 
with  authority  for  statements  which,  to  those  who  have 
not  themselves  gazed  upon  this  Carnival  of  the  Gods, 
would  sound  incredible  even  to  the  verge  of  the  wildest 
extravaganza.  Major  PowelPs  vivid  transcription  of  his 
thrilling  journey  through  the  canon,  sailing  through  the 
boiling,  rushing  river  whose  torrents  constantly  threatened 
to  engulf  his  boats,  — Major  PowelPs  transcription  stands 
for  itself  alone ; it  was  not  only  the  pictured  scenes  of  a 
writer,  but  the  scientific  report  of  an  official  government 
explorer;  but  since  this,  — and  from  Major  PowelPs  nar- 
rative every  writer  invariably  quotes, — since  this,  the 
writers  ([note  from  each  other ; they  use  each  other’s 
statements  as  evidence  which  they  cite  in  order  to  support 
their  own  statements  regarding  a marvel  so  unspeakably 
phenomenal  that  the  most  literal  and  statistical  descrip- 
tion reads  like  an  Arabian  Nights  romance.  Then,  too, 
the  array  of  pen-pictures  is  interesting.  A writer  who 
coined  w^onderful  descriptive  phrases  is  Mr.  C.  A.  Higgins. 
Of  the  silent  transformations  of  the  canon  w’hen  it  “ sinks 
into  mysterious  purple  shadow  ” he  said : “ The  far  Shinumo 
Altar  is  tipped  with  a golden  ray,  and  against  a leaden 
horizon  the  long  line  of  the  Echo  Cliffs  reflects  a soft  bril- 
liance of  indescribable  beauty,  a light  that,  elsewhere,  surely 
never  was  on  sea  or  land.  Then  darkness  falls,”  he  con- 
tinues, “ and  should  there  be  a moon,  the  scene  in  part 


GRAND  CANON  333 

revives  in  silver  light  a thousand  spectral  forms  projected 
from  inscrutable  gloom ; dreams  of  mountains,  as  in  their 
sleep  they  brood  on  things  eternal.”  Others  who  have 
written  of  the  Grand  Canon  are : Harriet  Monroe,  whose 
poeCs  pen  is  dipped  in  the  colors  of  an  artist’s  palette ; 
George  AVharton  James  ; and  Mr.  Charles  S.  Gleed,  a dis- 
tinguished lawyer  of  Topeka,  who  thus  described  the 
Canon’s  wonders : 

" Surrendering  our  minds  to  the  magic  spell  of  that  mighty 
chasm,  what  pictures  troop  before  us  ! Yonder  see  Gibraltar,^ 
giant  sentinel  of  the  Mediterranean.  There  on  long  ledges 
are  St.  Peter’s  and  St.  Paul’s,  Niagara,  the  Pyramids,  and  the 
Tower  of  Pisa.  Bracketed  beyond  are  the  great  parliament 
houses  of  the  wwld.  Down  below  behold  in  life  size  the 
lesser  mountains  of  our  own  land,  — Washington,  Monadnock, 
Mansfield,  Lookout,  and  a thousand  others.  See  in  the  dis- 
tance a million  colored  pictures  of  the  Alps,  the  Adirondacks, 
and  the  Sierras.  On  endless  shelves,  this  way  and  that, 
behold  the  temples  and  cathedrals,  the  castles  and  fortresses 
of  all  time.  See  vast  armies,  the  armies  of  the  ages,  winding 
up  the  slopes,  and  great  navies  manoeuvring  in  the  mirage- 
like distance.  Here,  indeed,  the  giant  mind  of  Dante  would 
have  found  new  worlds  to  conquer ; and  Homer  w^ould  have 
dreamed  new  dreams  of  gods  and  men,  love  and  war,  life  and 
death,  heaven  and  hell.” 

Hamlin  Garland,  in  one  of  his  prose-poems,  has  said : 
The  clouds  and  the  sunset,  the  moonrise  and  the  storm,  will 
transform  it  into  a splendor  no  mountain  range  can  surpass. 


334  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


Peaks  will  shift  and  glow,  w’alls  darken,  crags  take  fire,  and 
gray-green  mesas,  dimly  seen,  take  on  the  gleam  of  opales- 
cent lakes  of  mountain  water.  The  traveller  who  goes  out  to 
the  edge  and  peers  into  the  great  abyss  sees  but  one 
phase  out  of  hundreds.  If  he  is  fortunate,  it  may  be  one  of 
its  most  beautiful  combinations  of  color  and  shadows  But 
to  know  it,  to  feel  its  majesty,  one  should  camp  in  the 
bottom  and  watch  the  sunset  and  the  moonrise  while  the 
river  marches  from  its  lair  like  an  angry  lion.” 

" Robert  Brewster  Stanton,  a civil  engineer  whose  original 
work  has  brought  him  prominently  before  the  scientific 
world,  followed  Major  Powell’s  explorations,  twenty  years 
later,  with  a surveying  company  of  his  own  organization, 
— and  Mr.  Stanton  is,  indeed,  the  only  explorer  who  has 
made  the  continuous  journey  the  entire  length  of  the 
Colorado  River  which  Major  Powell  navigated  for  a thou- 
sand miles.  It  was  in  May  of  1889  that  Mr.  Stanton  and 
his  men  initiated  this  daring  feat,  and  of  one  phase  of  the 
appearance  of  the  canon  Mr.  Stanton’s  glowing,  eloquent 
pen  recorded : 

“ Those  terrifying,  frowning  walls  are  moving^  are 
changing ! A new  light  is  not  only  creeping  over  them, 
but  is  coming  out  fi'om  their  very  shadows.  See  those 
flattened  slopes  above  the  dark  sandstone  on  top  the 
granite ; even  at  this  very  moment  they  are  being  colored 
in  gorgeous  stripes  of  horizontal  layers  of  yellow,  brown, 
white,  green,  and  purple. 


GRAND  CANON 


335 


“What  means  this  wondrous  change?  Wherein  lies 
this  secret  of  the  great  canon  ? 

“ After  living  in  it  and  with  it  for  so  many  weeks  and 
months,  I lost  all  thought  of  the  great  chasm  as  being 
only  a huge  rock  mass,  carved  into  its  many  intricate  forms 
by  ages  of  erosion.  It  became  to  me  what  it  has  ever 
since  remained,  and  what  it  really  is,  — a living,  moving, 
sentient  being ! 

“The  Grand  Canon  is  not  a solitude.  It  is  a living, 
moving,  pulsating  being,  ever  changing  in  form  and  color, 
pinnacles  and  towers  springing  into  being  out  of  unseen 
depths.  From  dark  shades  of  brown  and  black,  scarlet 
flames  suddenly  flash  out  and  then  die  away  into  stretches 
of  orange  and  purple.  How  can  such  a shifting,  animated 
glory  be  called  ‘ a thing  ’ ? It  is  a being,  and  among  its 
upper  battlements,  its  temples,  its  amphitheatres,  its  cathe- 
dral spires,  its  monuments  and  its  domes,  and  in  the  deeper 
recesses  of  its  inner  gorge  its  spirit,  its  soul,  the  very  spirit 
of  the  living  God  himself,  lives  and  moves  and  has  its 
being.” 

Mr.  C.  M.  Skinner,  of  the  “ Brooklyn  Eagle,”  impres- 
sively wrote : 

^^ . . . After  the  sky  colors,  too,  have  faded,  you  are  about 
to  turn  away,  lingering,  regretting,  when  — again,  a wonder ; 
for  new  colors,  deep,  tender,  solemn,  flow  up  along  the 
painted  walls,  as  night  brims  out  of  the  deep.  The  bottom 
grows  vague  and  misty,  but  each  Walhalla  is  steeped  in 


336  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


purple  as  soft  as  the  bloom  of  grapes.  When  day  is  wholly 
gone  and  the  canon  has  become  to  the  eye  a mere  feeling  or 
impression  of  depth  and  space^  walk  out  on  some  lonely 
point.  The  slopes,  thirteen  miles  away,  are  visible  as  gray 
walls,  distinct  from  the  black  cliifs,  and  on  the  hither  side  the 
trees  are  clear  against  the  snow.  No  night  is  absolute  in 
blackness,  but  as  we  look  it  seems  as  though  the  canon  was 
lighted  from  within.  It  is  an  abyss  of  shadow  and  mystery. 
There  is  a sadness  in  the  canon,  as  in  all  great  things  of 
nature,  that  removes  it  from  human  experience.  We  have 
seen  the  utmost  of  the  world’s  sublimity,  and  life  is  fuller 
from  that  hour.” 

All  these  and  many  other  transcriptions  of  its  glory 
form  a picture  gallery  which  each  lover  of  the  Grand 
Canon  prizes  as  among  his  clioicest  possessions.  Thomas 
Moran,  the  artist,  has  painted  many  scenes  from  the 
canon,  one  of  these  paintings  having  been  placed  in 
the  Capitol  in  Washington,  where  it  is  the  object  of 
the  admiration  and  the  wonder  of  the  endless  procession 
of  visitors  who  throng  the  nation’s  centre.  Painter  and 
poet  and  prophet  make  their  pilgrimages  to  this  one 
stupendous  Marvel  of  Nature.  To  the  prophets  and  the 
poets  of  every  century  and  every  age  it  flashes  its  respon- 
sive message ; and  the  worshipper  at  the  shrine  of  this 
Infinite  Beauty,  this  sublimest  Majesty,  can  but  feel, 
with  Mr.  Higgins,  — that  poetic  lover  of  the  vast  South- 
west, the  lover  of  music  and  literature  and  art  and  nature. 


GRAND  CANON 


337 


whose  beautiful  life  on  earth  closed  in  1900,  but  whose 
charm  of  presence  still  pervades  the  scenes  he  loved  and 
memorialized,  — with  this  lofty  and  poetic  recorder  of 
nature  one  can  but  say  of  the  Grand  Canon  : “ Never  was 
picture  more  harmonious,  never  flower  more  exquisitely 
beautiful.  It  flashes  instant  communication  of  all  that 
architecture  and  painting  and  music  for  a thousand  years 
have  gropingly  striven  to  express.  It  is  the  soul  of  Michael 
Angelo  and  of  Beethoven.” 

In  retrospective  glance  over  a very  midsummer  night’s 
dream  of  the  ineffable  glory  and  beauty  of  wanderings 
from  Pike’s  Peak  to  the  Pacific  there  stands  out  to  the 
mental  vision  one  treasured  possession  whose  loveliness  ex- 
ceeds that  of  all  scenic  landscape ; which  is  more  luminous 
and  crystal  clear  than  the  luminous  atmosphere  of  beau- 
tiful Colorado  or  glowing  Arizona  ; which  is  more  endur- 
ing in  its  changelessness  than  even  the  Petrified  Forests 
or  the  mighty  precipices  of  the  Grand  Canon  ; which  is 
invested  with  all  the  etherial  splendor  of  that  brilliant 
young  city  which  the  Spanish  conquerors  knew  as  Pueblo 
de  la  Reine  de  los  Angeles : whicli  is  as  sacred  in  its  na- 
ture as  are  the  sacred  legends  of  the  Holy  Faith  of  St. 
Francis.  This  treasured  possession  is  that  of  the  friend- 
ships formed  during  this  enchanted  journey  ; of  the  gen- 
erous kindness,  the  bountiful  hospitality ; the  exquisite 
courtesy  and  grace  constantly  received  from  each  and  all 


338  THE  LAND  OF  ENCHANTMENT 


with  an  unfailing  uniformity,  including  those  in  widely  vary- 
ing relations  and  pursuits ; those  who,  according  to  outer 
standards,  are  the  more,  or  the  less,  fortunate  in  power,  re- 
sources, or  development,  — the  treasured  possession  of  all 
this  sweet  and  gracious  friendliness  is  imperishable ; and 
in  this  priceless  and  precious  gift,  which  is  not  only  a 
treasure  for  the  life  that  now  is,  but  also  for  the  life 
which  is  to  come,  is  there  crystallized  all  the  charm  of 
summer  wanderings  in  the  Land  of  Enchantment. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Acoma,  New  Mexico,  183  ; theory 
of  its  origin,  184  ; its  antiquity, 
185 ; rivalry  between  it  and 
Laguna,  183,  186  ; Charles  F. 
Lummis  on,  186,  187. 

Adamana,  the  gateway  to  the 
Petrified  Forests  of  Arizona, 
270 ; origin  of  its  name,  270 ; 
the  simple  life  at,  274,  273. 

Adams,  the  Hon.  Alva,  117,  118  ; 
quoted,  118,  119,  120. 

Agriculture  in  Colorado,  130,  131  ; 
in  New  Mexico,  204,  203. 

Albuquerque,  New  Mexico,  196  ; 
excursions  from,  196  ; a“  smart” 
town,  200 ; characteristics  of, 
201. 

Ames,  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Gordon, 
on  civilization,  162. 

Arizona,  sights  of,  4,  228,  229, 
239,  237,  238,  267,  268  ; a treas- 
ure land,  9 ; visited  by  the 
Spaniards,  214 ; a land  of  magic 
and  mystery,  228,  234,  253 ; its 
resources,  230,  255  ; irrigation 
in,  230,  231,  246 ; rainfall  in, 
230,  279 ; its  attractions  for 
men  of  science,  231,  232  ; flora 
of,  232 ; cacti  of,  233 ; grasses 
of,  234 ; climate  of,  234,  235, 
236 ; as  a health  resort,  234, 
235  ; meaning  of  the  name,  236  ; 
history  of,  236 ; separation  from 
New  Mexico,  236,  237,  232; 


rivers  of,  240,  251  ; capital  of, 
243 ; towns  of,  251  ; safety  of 
property  in,  251;  citizens  of,  232, 
254 ; festivity  of  the  “ Snake 
Dance,”  258,  259,  260,  261  ; the 
“ Painted  Desert  ” of,  263,  264, 
265,  266  ; Petrified  Forests  of, 
270  ; desert  of,  284,  285. 

Bear  Creek  Canon,  89. 

Bell,  the  Hon.  John  C.,  and  the 
Gunnison  Tunnel,  111. 

“ Ben  Hur,”  where  written,  219. 

Boston  woman  characterized,  23 

Brooks,  Bishop  Phillips,  on  the 
superhuman,  181 ; quoted,  216. 

California,  Southern,  features 
of,  9. 

Campbell,  Rev.  Frederick,  on 
Glenwood  Springs,  96,  97. 

Campbell,  Prof.  H.  W.,  on  “dry 
farming,”  129,  130. 

Canon  Diablo,  Arizona,  289,  292. 

Caruthers,  William,  on  resources 
of  Cripple  Creek,  77. 

“Cathedral  Rock,”  74,  75,  81. 

Cheyenne  Canon,  65,  66,  67  ; 
Helen  Hunt  Jackson  on,  65. 

Cliff-dwellings  of  Southern  Colo- 
rado, 114,  115,  116;  bill  in 
Congress  for  preservation  of, 
114,  115;  opinions  concerning, 
116  ; at  Flagstaff,  Arizona,  286. 


342 


INDEX 


Colorado,  splendors  of,  14,  139 ; 
a second  Italy,  15,  97  ; people 
of,  16 ; woman  suffrage  in,  25, 
26,  27,  28,  29 ; developed  a de- 
mand for  specialists,  33 ; em- 
ployment in,  33 ; revenue  of, 
34 ; railways  of,  37,  40,  99 ; 
C.  B.  Knox  on  the  future  of, 
39 ; Major  Pike’s  description 
of,  63 ; has  larger  percentage 
of  American  population  than 
any  other  Western  state,  88 ; 
waterfalls  of,  104  ; irrigation  of, 

110,  111,  119,  126,  127,  133,  134, 
141,  145,  146,  151  ; yachting  in, 

111,  112,  113;  mountain  climb- 
ing in,  113,  114  ; agriculture  in, 
130,  131 ; ranching  in,  132 ; 
“ trip  round  the  circle  ” journey 
described,  134,  135,  136,  137, 
138  ; engineering  feats  in,  138  ; 
park  systems  of,  139 ; indusT 
tries  of,  139,  140,  141 ; stone- 
quarrying  in,  142,  143 ; mineral 
resources  of,  143,  144,  147 ; 
population  of,  147 ; progress 
of,  148;  towns  of,  148;  north- 
ern, 149  ; coal-fields  of,  150  ; 
fruit  cultivation  in,  151 ; labor 
in,  152,  153;  forests  of,  153, 
154 ; sport  in,  155 ; public  school 
system  in,  173;  literature  and  art 
in,  177;  its  future,  178,  180,  181. 

, pioneers  of,  157-181 ; con- 
trasted with  the  Pilgrim  Fathers, 
158  ; “ Denver  Republican  ” on, 
158;  their  unselfishness,  159, 
160,  163;  environment  of,  162, 
163 ; Nathan  Cook  Meeker, 
164-176. 

Colorado  College,  85,  86,  87. 

Colorado  Fuel  and  Iron  Com- 
pany, 124,  125.  126. 


Colorado  River,  Arizona,  240 ; 
Prof.  N.  H.  Newell  on,  240, 
241,  242. 

Colorado  Springs,  gateway  to 
Pike’s  Peak  district,  51 ; cli- 
mate of,  52 ; excursions  from, 
52 ; as  a tourist  centre,  57 ; 
summer  and  autumn  in,  83; 
the  town  described,  84 ; life  at, 
84,  85 ; founded  by  General 
Palmer,  85 ; buildings  of,  88 ; 
park  system  of,  89,  91. 

Commencement  ceremonies  in 
East  and  West  contrasted,  86. 

Cripple  Creek,  towns  of,  75,  76 ; 
gold  resources  of,  75,  76,  77; 
mines  of,  76 ; character  of 
miners  in,  77,  78 ; favorite  ex- 
cursion from,  78,  79. 

Denver,  15 ; metropolis  of  the 
West,  16;  climate  of,  16,  44; 
its  buildings,  17,  18,  19 ; resi- 
dential district  of,  17  ; the  Cap- 
itol, 18 ; City  Park,  18,  19 ; 
homes  of,  19  ; telephone  service 
of,  21 ; women  of,  and  politics, 
22,  23,  25 ; election  frauds  in, 
28;  smelteries  of,  34;  growth 
of  population,  37 ; future  of, 
38;  City  Arch,  40,  41,  42; 
spirit  of  the  city,  42;  enter- 
prise of,  43 ; an  early  opinion 
of,  43 ; a convention  city,  45 ; 
Art  League  of,  46 ; institu- 
tions of,  46 ; education  in,  46, 
47  ; churches  of,  47  ; life  in,  48 ; 
should  replace  Washington  as 
capital  of  the  Union,  48,  49 ; 
electrical  supply  in,  106. 

Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Rail- 
way, 99  ; scenery  on,  100. 

“ Denver  Republican,  The,” 


4 


INDEX 


343 


quoted,  147 ; on  the  pioneers 
of  Colorado,  158. 

“ Dry  Farming  ” system,  discov- 
ered by  Prof.  H.  W.  Campbell, 
129 ; Professor  Olin  on  benefits 
of,  131;  extent  of,  in  Eastern 
Colorado,  131;  success  of,  in 
New  Mexico,  204. 

Eliot,  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  A. , 
quoted,  86,  87. 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  quoted, 
25,  51,  63,  94,  104,  157,  182, 
228,  268,  270,  275,  296,  311. 

Estes  Park,  Colorado,  155. 

“ Fairy  Caves  ” of  Colorado,  98,  ^ 

100,  101. 

Fellows,  Professor,  surveys  for 
the  Gunnison  Tunnel,  109,  111. 

Flagstaff,  Arizona,  286  ; its  an- 
tiquities, 286 ; the  Lowell  Ob- 
servatory at,  287,  288. 

Franciscans,  mission  churches  of, 
191,  209,  210  ; their  labors,  208, 
216,  217. 

Frost,  Colonel  Max,  on  old  New 
Mexico,  187-193 ; his  influence 
in  New  Mexico,  225  ; his  career, 
226 ; Secretary  of  the  Bureau 
of  Immigration,  227. 

“ Garden  of  the  Gods,”  Colo- 
rado, 91,  92;  gateway  to,  91, 
92. 

Garland,  Hamlin,  on  the  Grand 
Canon,  333,  334. 

Gilbert,  Prof.  G.  K.,  studies 
Meteorite  Mountain  of  Arizona, 
290,  293,  294. 

Gleed,  Charles  S.,  on  the  Grand 
Canon,  333. 

Glen  wood  Springs,  Colorado,  94  ; 


its  mineral  springs,  94,  95; 
bathing  at,  95,  96,  97  ; Rev. 
Frederick  Campbell  on,  96  ; hot 
cave  of,  97  ; “ Fairy  Caves  ” 
of,  98,  99, 100,  101  ; scenery  at, 
99. 

Grand  Canon,  4;  scenic  marvels 
of,  311,  312,  314,  315,  317,  319, 
321  ; Harriet  Monroe  on,  312, 
313  ; compared  with  the  Eiffel 
Tower,  313 ; area  of,  313,  319, 
328 ; always  revealing  new  beau- 
ties, 316  ; atmospheric  effects 
of,  316,  318,  319  ; approach  to, 
318,  325,  326, 330  ; architectural 
effects  of,  319, 320,  328  ; Charles 
Dudley  Warner  on,  322  ; vis- 
itors to,  322  ; hotels  of,  323 ; 
proposed  memorial  to  Major 
John  W.  Powell,  324 ; earhest 
discovery  of,  325 ; the  Hopi 
House  at,  326  ; Indians  of,  327  ; 
Major  Powell’s  journal  of  his 
exploration  of,  329,  330,  332 ; 
Prof.  George  Wharton  James 
on,  331 ; eulogies  of,  by  C.  A. 
Higgins,  332,  337,  by  Charles 
S.  Gleed,  333,  by  Hamlin  Gar- 
land, 333,  by  Robert  Brewster 
Stanton,  334,  and  by  C.  M. 
Skinner,  335  ; paintings  of,  by 
Thomas  Moran,  336. 

Grand  Caverns  of  Pike’s  Peak, 
68,  69  ; memorial  to  General 
Grant  in,  69. 

Grand  Lake,  Colorado,  112;  its 
yacht  club,  112. 

Grand  River,  the,  101. 

Grant,  General,  memorial  to,  in 
Grand  Caverns,  69. 

Greeley,  founding  of,  164, 169, 171, 
172  ; constitution  of,  172  ; popu- 
lation of,  173;  educational  es^ 


344 


INDEX 


tablishments  of,  173;  churches 
of,  174  ; buildings  of,  175  ; life 
in,  175 ; the  Meeker  Memorial 
Library,  175. 

Greeley,  Horace,  and  Colorado, 
168. 

“ Greeley  Tribune,  The,”  on  irri- 
gation, 127,  128  ; foundation  of, 
174. 

Grenfell,  Helen,  record  of,  27. 

Gunnison  River,  Colorado,  107, 
108 ; plan  to  divert,  108. 

Gunnison  Tunnel,  108,  109,  110. 

Hammond,  the  Hon.  Meade,  and 
the  Gunnison  Tunnel,  111. 

Higgins,  C.  A.,  on  the  Grand 
Canon,  332,  337. 

Hosmer,  Harriet,  on  travelling  by 
night,  12. 

Howe,  Julia  Ward,  quoted,  161. 

Irrigation  in  Colorado,  107,  110, 
111,  119,  125,  126,  127,  128, 133, 
134,  141,  145,  146,  151 ; in  New 
Mexico,  203,  204 ; in  Arizona, 
230,  231,  246;  in  California, 
302,  307,  308. 

Jackson,  Helen  Hunt,  quoted, 
65. 

James,  Prof.  George  Wharton, 
on  Cahfornian  missions,  210 ; 
on  Indian  life  in  Arizona,  261, 
262,  263;  on  the  “Painted 
Desert,”  264,  265 ; home  of,  at 
Pasadena,  305,  306 ; his  love  of 
the  desert  of  the  Southwest, 
306,  307 ; on  the  Grand  Canon, 
330. 

Kansas  City,  13. 

Kearny,  General  Stephen  W., 


occupies  Santa  Fe,  218,  219 ; 
memorial  to,  218  ; quoted,  218. 

Kirley,  the  Hon.  Joseph  H.,  on 
Arizona,  251. 

Knox,  C.  B.,  on  Colorado,  39,  40. 

Lacey,  Representative,  on  the 
Mesa  Verde  cliff-dwellings,  115, 
116. 

Laguna,  New  Mexico,  185,  186. 

Las  Vegas,  New  Mexico,  199 ; hot 
springs  of,  199,  200 ; its  attrac- 
tions, 202. 

Lindsay,  Judge,  on  woman  suf- 
frage, 27,  28,  29. 

Lookout  Mountain,  Colorado,  102, 
103 ; scenery  on  the  ascent  of, 
103. 

Los  Angeles,  the  “ boom  ” of, 
229,  300,  301  ; trolley  system  of, 
299,  303  ; lighting  of,  300  ; its 
parks,  301 ; public  library  of, 
301  ; climate,  302 ; irrigation  in, 
302,  307  ; life  of,  303,  304,  310 ; 
population  of,  307  ; as  a centre 
for  excursions,  308  ; idealism  of, 
309  ; Pacific  School  Osteopathy 
at,  309  ; churches  of,  309,  310. 

Lowell  Observatory,  6,  268,  276, 
287,  288. 

LoweU,  Professor  Percival,  287. 

Manitou,  67,  68,  104;  mineral 
springs  of,  67. 

Manitou  Park,  64,  65. 

Maricopa  County,  243,  244. 

Mars,  photographs  of,  taken  at 
Lowell  Observatory,  287,  288, 
289. 

Mead,  Prof.  Elwood,  on  irriga- 
tion, 144,  145. 

Meeker  family,  164,  165. 

Meeker,  the  Hon.  Nathan  Cookf 
165;  his  career,  165,  166;  his 
visit  to  the  West,  167  ; Horace 


INDEX 


845 


Greeley  encourages  him  to  es- 
tablish a colony  in  Colorado, 

1 68  ; founds  the  town  of  Gree- 
ley, 169  ; his  work  among  the 
Indians,  169,  170;  massacred, 
170. 

Meeker,  town  of,  170,  171. 

Mendoza,  expeditions  organized 
by,  213,  236. 

Meredith,  Ellis,  79;  her  literary 
work,  80 ; her  ode  to  the 
“ Short  Line,”  81. 

“ Mesa,  the  Enchanted,”  ascent 
of,  184 ; described,  184. 

Mesa  Verde,  cliflF-dwellings  of, 
115,  116  ; Representative  Lacey 
on,  113,  116. 

Meteorite  Mountain,  Arizona, 
290;  theory  of  origin,  290,  291, 
293,  295 ; discovery  of  diamonds 
in,  290  ; description  of,  291,  292  ; 
experiments  of  Dr.  Foote  re- 
lating to,  293. 

Monroe,  Harriet,  on  the  “ Painted 
Desert,”  263  ; quoted,  311 ; on 
the  Grand  Canon,  312,  313. 

Montezuma  Well,  Arizona,  237. 

Monument  Park,  91. 

Monument  Valley,  91. 

Moran,  Thomas,  paintings  by,  of 
the  Grand  Canon,  336. 

Mount  Massive,  ascent  of,  113, 
114. 

Mountain  climbing  in  Colorado, 
113,  114. 

Muir,  John,  discovers  a new  Pet- 
rified Forest  of  Arizona,  277. 

Munk,  Dr.  Joseph  A.  ,on  the  cacti 
of  Arizona,  232, 233  ; on  Arizona 
as  a health  resort,  234,  235. 

Murphy,  the  Hon.  N.  O.,  opinions 
on  the  union  of  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico,  233,  234. 


New  Mexico,  features  of,  8 ; cli- 
mate of,  13 ; a land  of  surprises, 
182  ; its  mixed  population,  182  ; 
scenery  of,  183 ; ruins  of,  183 ; 
its  ancient  civilization,  187-193 ; 
Franciscan  mission  churches  of, 
191;  archaeology  of,  193;  its 
progress  in  modern  ideas,  194 ; 
French  expedition  to,  195 ; com- 
pared with  Algiers,  195  ; hotels 
in,  193 ; resources  of,  196,  197, 
198;  irrigation  in,  203,  204; 
railroads  of,  203 ; opportunities 
in,  204 ; fruit  growing  in,  205 ; 
mineral  wealth  of,  203 ; under 
Spanish  rule,  214 ; records  of, 
217  ; Historical  Association  of, 
220. 

Newberry,  Dr.,  on  Arizona,  267. 

Newell,  Prof.  N.  H.,  on  the  Colo- 
rado River,  240,  241,  242. 

Newspapers  of  the  Southwest,  122 ; 
“ Greeley  Tribune  ’’quoted,  127 ; 
“ Denver  Republican  ” quoted, 
147,  158;  “ The  New  Mexican,” 
225;  “The  Eagle”  of  Santa 
Fe,  227. 

Night,  charm  of  travelling  by,  11, 
12 ; at  Pike’s  Peak,  55,  36. 

Nizza,  Friar  Marcos  de,  mission- 
ary labors  of,  208;  expedition 
of,  213. 

Onate,  Juan  de,  founds  Santa  F4, 
^214. 

“ Painted  Desert,”  The,  of  Ari- 
zona, 261-266 ; Prof.  George 
Wharton  James  on,  262,  264; 
Harriet  Monroe  on,  263. 

Pajarito  Park,  New  Mexico,  187. 

Palmer,  General  William  J., 
founds  Colorado  Springs,  83; 


346 


INDEX 


benefactor  of  the  state,  89,  90, 
93 ; residence  of,  90. 

Pasadena,  California,  304 ; home 
of  Prof.  George  Wharton  James 
at,  305,  306. 

“ Pathfinders  and  Pioneers,”  Gov- 
ernor Alva  Adams  on,  118,  119, 
120. 

Patterson,  Senator,  career  of,  31, 
32. 

Petrified  Forests,  the,  of  Arizona, 
270;  a visit  to,  271,  278,  279; 
atmospheric  effects  in,  272,  273, 
283 ; towns  in  neighborhood  of, 
276 ; metropolis  of,  277 ; dis- 
covery by  John  Muir,  277  ; dif- 
ficulties of  visiting,  279  ; three 
in  number,  279  ; area  of,  279 ; 
antiquities  of,  281,  282  ; preser- 
vation of,  insured  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, 282;  the  marvel  of 
the  geologist,  283 ; an  arid 
region,  284. 

Phillips,  Stephen,  quoted,  15. 

Phcenix,  capital  of  Arizona,  243 ; 
a tourist  centre,  243;  attrac- 
tions of,  245 ; winter  in,  245 ; 
school  system  of,  252. 

Pike,  Major  (afterwards  General) 
Zebulon  Montgomery,  discov- 
ery by,  59  ; his  ascent  of  Pike’s 
Peak,  60;  his  career,  61,  62; 
diary  of,  62,  63. 

Pike’s  Peak,  region  of,  4;  gate- 
way of,  51  ; winter  at,  51  ; the 
mountain  described,  52,  53,  54  ; 
sunsets  at,  54,  55  ; at  night,  55, 
56  ; cogwheel  railway  of,  56  ; as- 
cent of,  57,  58  ; its  souvenir  daily 
paper,  57  ; summit  of,  58  ; dis- 
covery of,  59 ; centenary  of 
discovery  celebrated,  64 ; favor- 
ite excursion  in  vicinity  of,  64. 


Pilgrim  Fathers,  contrasted  with 
the  Colorado  pioneers,  158. 

“ Point  of  Rocks,”  Arizona,  238. 

Powell,  Major  John  W.,  explores 
the  Grand  Canon,  324,  325; 
journal  of  his  expedition,  329, 
330. 

Prescott,  in  Arizona,  237  ; mines 
of,  237  ; the  “ Point  of  Rocks  ” 
near,  238 ; surrounding  coun- 
try, 238. 

Prince,  the  Hon.  L.  Bradford,  on 
New  Mexico,  218. 

Pueblo,  116,  117 ; home  of  Gov- 
ernor Alva  Adams  in,  117 ; its 
amenities,  121,  123;  club-house 
of,  121 ; climate  of,  122 ; library 
of,  122;  plant  of  the  Colorado 
Fuel  and  Iron  Company  at, 
124,  125,  126. 

Ranching  in  Colorado,  132. 

Raton,  New  Mexico,  198. 

Routt  County,  mineral  wealth  of, 
39. 

Salpointe,  Most  Rev.  Dr.  J.  B., 
archbishop  of  New  Mexico,  210. 

Salt  River  Valley,  Arizona,  230, 
244,  247 ; its  mammoth  dam, 
231;  fruit-rearing  in,  247. 

Salton  Sea,  the,  242. 

Salton  Sink,  the,  242,  243. 

San  Xavier,  mission  church  of, 
215,  217. 

Santa  F6,  consecrated  by  holy 
memories,  207 ; founded  by 
Onate,  209,  214 ; centre  of 
archdiocese,  210 ; church  of 
San  Miguel,  209,  211  ; visit 
of  Diego  de  Vargas  to,  211; 
buildings  of,  212;  inhabitants 
of,  212;  oldest  town  in  the 


INDEX 


347 


United  States,  214;  occupied 
by  General  Stephen  W.  Kear- 
ney, 218  ; governed  by  General 
Lew.  Wallace,  219 ; “ Ben  Hur  ” 
written  at,  219 ; old  palace  of, 
220 ; society  in,  220,  221  ; pre- 
cious stones  in  vicinity  of, 
221 ; chapel  of  San  Rosario,  221, 
222  ; history  of,  223 ; buildings 
of,  223. 

Santa  Monica,  California,  303. 

Seeman  Tunnel,  the,  35 ; claims 
reached  by,  36. 

“ Short'  Line  ” trip,  Colorado,  4, 
7,  70,  71,  72;  homes  along  the 
railway,  74;  hand-car  journey 
on,  79,  80,  81 ; Ellis  Meredith’s 
ode  to,  81. 

Skinner,  C.  M.,  on  the  Grand 
Canon,  333,  336. 

“ Snake  Dance,  The,”  in  Arizona, 
258,  239,  260,  261. 

Southwest,  scenic  attractions  of, 
4-14;  characteristics  of  life  in, 
10;  travelling  facilities  of,  11, 
12  ; gateway  of,  13. 

Stanton,  Robert  Brewster,  on  the 
Grand  Canon,  334,  335. 

Stone,  Lucy,  and  the  emancipa- 
tion of  women,  24. 

St  Peter’s  Dome,  railway  up,  4 ; 
excursion  to,  64;  ascent  of,  71, 
73 ; view  from,  72,  74. 

Sugar,  cultivation  of,  in  Colorado, 
139,  140,  141,  150. 

Teller,  the  Hon.  Henry  M., 
career  of,  30. 

“Temple  Drive,”  a favorite  ex- 
'cursion  in  Pike’s  Peak  region, 
64. 


Tennyson,  Lord,  quoted,  3. 

Thayer,  Mrs.  Emma  Homan, 
102 ; her  “ Wild  Flowers  in 
Colorado,”  102. 

Tonto  Basin,  mammoth  dam  at, 
246,  248,  249,  230  ; entailed  the 
destruction  of  the  town  of 
Roosevelt,  247,  250. 

Vaca,  Cabeza  de,  expedition  of, 
213. 

Vargas,  Diego  de,  visits  Santa 
Fe,  211,  221;  his  vow  to  the 
Virgin  Mary,  222. 

Wallace,  General  Lew.,  gover- 
nor of  New  Mexico,  219  ; writes 
“ Ben  Hur  ” at  Santa  F^,  219. 

Walsh,  Thomas  F.,  on  Colorado 
and  Philippine  interests,  140, 
141,  142. 

Warner,  Charles  Dudley,  on  the 
Grand  Canon,  322. 

Washington,  may  give  place  to 
Denver  as  the  capital  of  the 
Union,  49. 

Water-power,  in  Colorado,  and 
electricity,  104,  105,  106,  107. 

Webster,  Daniel,  on  the  worth- 
lessness of  the  West,  179. 

Whitman,  Walt,  quotation  from, 
158. 

Woman  suffrage,  23,  24,  25 ; in 
Colorado,  25,  26,  27,  28,  29  ; 
Judge  Lindsay  on,  27,  28,  29. 

Yachting  in  Colorado,  111,  112, 
113. 

Zumacacori,  mission  church  of, 
215. 


I 


BOSTON  COLLEGE 


hill,  Mass. 


90 


D1614521 


F 786  .W61 

U)  h i t i ri  sk  ? L i 1 i a n ? 1 8 5 9 
J h 0 1 a n d o f e ri  c h a ri  t m e ri  t y 


Boston  College 
Libraries 

Chestnut  Hill,  Mass.  02167 


